Coles, Woolworths pledge to remove products containing plastic microbeads Supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles have pledged to remove products containing tiny plastic particles called microbeads in Australia as global momentum grows to eliminate them. Microbeads or microplastics can be found in common scrubs, face washes, soaps and toothpastes. Billions of the tiny particles are being washed into waterways with little knowledge of product users, and causing havoc in Australia's water systems. Scientists estimate there are about 300,000 microbeads in an average bottle of face scrub, usually labelled as polyethylene in the product ingredients or HDPE (high-density polyethylene), or even PEHD. Sometimes they're added as an abrasive for deep cleaning, but often serve no purpose other than for decoration. Environmental activist Jon Dee is leading a campaign to ban the production of microbeads in Australia. "Most people you talk to have no idea that the pe...