Skip to content

Orbeez 🙁

The commenters are making a good point here. Where ARE all of these water beads going to end up?
The commenters are making a good point here. Where ARE all of these water beads going to end up? Gif: Gizmodo

Just because “water beads” aren’t plastic, doesn’t mean it’s fine to dump them everywhere. The expanding colorful spheres are made from super absorbent polymer gels, and do technically biodegrade over time—in fact, they were initially intended and marketed as a gardening and agricultural tool, to help retain soil moisture. But time is relative, and two to five years (maybe even up to 10!) is a long wait while polymer beads build up in the environment.

Just as they can pose a choking and obstruction threat to children, Orbeez and similar water beads can also be a risk to wildlife that might ingest them accidentally.

Plus, there’s the damage they can reportedly do to sewage systems as people opt to fill their bathtubs with them. Water beads are fun in certain contexts, and can safely enjoyed in small quantities, contained in your home, but maybe reconsider intentionally pouring them outside.

Gizmodo is begging you to think before you ‘beez.

Related Articles