Hi everyone, I hope you are having a great week! Today’s post is inspired by a paper by Abidemi et al. (2018) titled “Treatment technologies for wastewater from cosmetic industry—A review”. I find that this article was highly informative regarding the treatment process of wastewater generated by the cosmetics industry and I really encourage everyone to take a look at this comprehensive overview!
(Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/wastewater)
The world’s demand for cosmetics is on the rise as our global living standards continue to improve. Along with the rise in demand, the amount of wastewater released from the production and consumption of cosmetic products is also increasing.
The creation of cosmetic and self-care products involves a myriad of troubling chemicals. Prominently, large amounts of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic are often retained within the sludge of wastewater from cosmetic factories. This sludge, when not treated promptly, quickly makes its way into our aquatic systems. Additionally, aside from heavy metals, inorganic compounds like nitrates and ammonium salts are also commonly found in wastewater emitted from production of beauty products. In large concentrations, they can cause serious pollution to our ecological environments and amplify the rate of eutrophication of water.
Eutrophication refers to the enrichment of bodies of water with minerals such as the nitrates mentioned above. As a result, algae thrives on these nutrients, causing an algae bloom that is harmful to aquatic life as they severely reduce rates of photosynthesis and lower oxygen levels of their environments. Such eutrophication can result in a chain reaction that leads to other forms of pollution like vast amounts of greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) emissions from decomposing plants (Li et al., 2021).
(Source: https://www.tpomag.com/online_exclusives/2019/01/wastewater-treatment-plants-could-become-sustainable-biorefineries)
A Complicated Situation
Abidemi et al. (2018) acknowledges the dangers of exposing our aquatic environments to these increasing rates of wastewater released by the cosmetic industry. As such, the team argues strongly for the need to emphasize treatment of these wastewaters.
However, treatment of wastewater is not simply a matter of applying the correct engineering solutions. To consider more holistically from the producer’s perspective, there are several limitations that may serve as blockers towards the treatment of these chemicals. For example, the treatment of wastewater uses significant amount of energy and generate large amounts of carbon footprints. As such, while caring for one aspect of the environment, companies may generate environmental damage in alternative forms. While large beauty companies like L’Oreal are able to continuously work on more innovative and sustainable waste to cope with their wastewater, managing the costs and environmental impacts are highly difficult for smaller companies.
While we appoint producers to be more diligent regarding their clean up processes, it is also important to manage expectations and understand the dilemmas involved in an industry as large as this one. I am in no means defending their practices, however, I do find more value in understanding the circumstances and blockers causing that has resulted in the proliferation of environmental impact from cosmetics productions.
Coming Up
This post rounds up the pollution series of the beauty industry! In the next few posts, I will do an industry deep dive by looking closely at a case study of mica mining.
Stay tuned and stay concerned,
Hui Jie
References
Abidemi, B. L., James, O. A., Oluwatosin, A. T., Akinropo, O. J., Oraeloka, U. D., & Racheal, A. E. (2018). Treatment technologies for wastewater from cosmetic industry—A review. Int J Chem Biomol S, 4(4), 69-80.
Li, Y., Shang, J., Zhang, C., Zhang, W., Niu, L., Wang, L., & Zhang, H. (2021). The role of freshwater eutrophication in greenhouse gas emissions: A review. Science of The Total Environment, 768, 144582.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2021, February 26). What is eutrophication?. Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html.
Oxymem. (n.d.). 4 Major Operational Challenges Facing Wastewater Treatment Plants. Retrieved from https://www.oxymem.com/blog/4-major-operational-challenges-facing-wastewater-treatment-plants.
Veolia. (n.d). L'Oréal: Holistic and Innovative Wastewater Treatment and Recycling. Retrieved from https://www.veolia.com.sg/global-case-studies/loreal-holistic-and-innovative-wastewater-treatment-and-recycling.
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