{"id":485383,"date":"2026-02-19T13:33:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485383\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T13:33:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T13:33:17","slug":"there-has-to-be-glitter-can-the-rio-carnival-give-up-its-love-of-beach-polluting-microplastics-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/485383\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018There has to be glitter\u2019: can the Rio carnival give up its love of beach-polluting microplastics? | Oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it is embellishing elaborate costumes, delicately applied as eye makeup, or smeared across bare skin, glitter is everywhere at Rio de Janeiro\u2019s carnival in Brazil. The world\u2019s largest party, <\/a>which ended on Wednesday, leaves a trail of sparkles in its wake.<\/p>\n

At one bloco last weekend, a huge sound truck and dancers in leopard print led thousands of revellers down the promenade at Flamengo beach. Among them was Bruno Fernandes, who had jazzed up an otherwise minimalist outfit of navy swimming briefs by smearing silver glitter over his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just cast around for what I had at home before heading out,\u201d says the 39-year-old consultant, the sun glinting off specks of glitter in his beard. \u201cGlitter is the basics for getting dressed up with minimum effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has to be glitter,\u201d says Lucia Dias, 22, wearing a metallic bikini and waving a glitter-encrusted fan. \u201cIf you don\u2019t apply it at home, you do it on the way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revellers celebrate at a street party on Flamengo beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil<\/p>\n

But this glitter mania carries a heavy environmental toll, driving up pollution on the city\u2019s seafront and leading to calls for the several million carnival-goers to find alternative ways to shine. A study on microplastics pollution<\/a> published last year found that contamination on a beach in Rio increased significantly during carnival, with glitter the main culprit.<\/p>\n

Researchers took samples of sand along Flamengo beach, a popular location for the street parties known as blocos, before, during and after the carnival, as well as a control sample eight months later, to measure the concentration of microplastics.<\/p>\n

Tatiana Cabrini, left, and Gabriela Sodr\u00e9 take sand samples on Flamengo Beach to assess microplastics pollution earlier this week<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring carnival, there is an infinitely higher concentration [of microplastics] than before and after,\u201d says Tatiana Cabrini, a professor of ecology and marine resources at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro<\/a> (Unirio) and a co-author of the paper.<\/p>\n

Gabriela Sodr\u00e9, a Unirio student and the paper\u2019s lead author, says: \u201cYou could see glitter clearly in the samples. Some looked like a constellation.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has to be glitter. If you don\u2019t apply it at home, you do it on the way outLucia Dias<\/p>\n

Typically made from a plastic called PET and coated in aluminium, glitter is a primary microplastic, which means the particles are manufactured to less than 5mm in diameter, or even microscopic. Larger pieces of plastic also break down into tiny particles eventually. This, along with the release of fibres from costumes and wigs, contributes to carnival pollution.<\/p>\n

Body glitter adds instant party vibes and is everywhere at carnival<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople hug, people sweat, and this friction ends up releasing particles,\u201d says Cabrini.<\/p>\n

\u201cOutside of carnival, there will be plastic, microplastics coming from the water, from the land. Carnival puts huge pressure on the beach; it\u2019s millions of people throughout the days.\u201d<\/p>\n

The research was carried out when 18 blocos were held on Flamengo beach, of which three were \u201cmega-blocos\u201d, drawing more than 100,000 people.<\/p>\n

The microplastics on the beach can be carried into the sea by the tide and wind, where they harm marine life and move up through the food chain<\/a>, potentially carrying contaminants to the top of it.<\/p>\n

Cabrini says: \u201cA mole crab might filter a fibre. It will be eaten by a fish. This small fish will be eaten by a larger fish. And if we eat this fish, we\u2019ll also be consuming microplastics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microplastics have been found all over the planet, from the summit of Mount Everest<\/a> to the deepest point in the oceans<\/a>, as well as in the human body.<\/p>\n

\u2018Carnival puts huge pressure on the beach\u2019: a sample of the plastic found on Flamengo beach <\/p>\n

There is still little research into the impacts of microplastics on human health, but there are associations with reproductive health harm and higher risks of heart attack and stroke<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlastic glitter should be banned,\u201d says Cabrini. \u201cIf glitter must be used, it should be biodegradable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frances Sans\u00e3o, a Rio set designer who founded one of Brazil\u2019s first biodegradable glitter brands, Pura Bioglitter, in 2017, says: \u201cBrazilians are a bit addicted to glitter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flamengo beach hosts many parties during carnival including mega-blocos that draw more than 100,000 people<\/p>\n

The EU banned the sale of plastic glitter in 2023<\/a> and other countries, including the UK, the US and Canada, have banned microbeads, another type of primary microplastics used in cosmetics. Public concern with the damaging impact of glitter has also led to a ban by a number of music festivals<\/a> in the UK.<\/p>\n

But in Brazil a bill banning the sale and use of plastic and metallic glitter<\/a> has been stuck in the lower house of congress since 2020. Although the number of brands selling biodegradable alternatives has increased in recent years, their use remains a fringe practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an ideal world, it would be a concern of mine, but it\u2019s not financially accessible,\u201d says Dias at the bloco, where a street vendor is selling sachets of glitter for five reais (less than \u00a31). Small 2.5g pots of bio-glitter sell online for about seven times that.<\/p>\n

Carla Rocha, 44, wears a cluster of non-biodegradable gold stars on her temples. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got bigger problems. Of course, everyone must do their bit, but when we see big business messing things up, we\u2019re just a grain of sand,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Sans\u00e3o, who uses algae and minerals to make her bio-glitter, says: \u201cI don\u2019t think Brazil is as concerned with sustainability as European countries are. It\u2019s not just glitter, carnival is a very wasteful party.\u201d<\/p>\n

City waste collectors clean up Flamengo beach during carnival<\/p>\n

Last year, Rio\u2019s waste service collected more than 1,600 tonnes<\/a> of rubbish from street parties and parades.<\/p>\n

Sans\u00e3o would like to see a more sustainable carnival. \u201cCarnival is about creativity, and I think there\u2019s a way for us to be happy without leaving such a trace,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether it is embellishing elaborate costumes, delicately applied as eye makeup, or smeared across bare skin, glitter is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-485383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}