President Obama signed into law on Monday a bill phasing out the manufacture of products containing plastic microbeads by July 1, 2017, and the sale of such products by July 1, 2018. Following in the footsteps of California’s historic microbead ban enacted earlier this year, the Microbead-Free Waters Act (H.R. 1321) bans all plastic microbeads, including those made from so-called “biodegradable plastics,” most of which do not biodegrade in marine environments.

Microplastics reportedly threaten sea birds, turtles and other marine wildlife and the ban will stop any addition to the trillions of pieces already polluting the lakes and streams. Sources say this ban will eliminate “a pointless and harmful source of plastic pollution before it ever has a chance to reach the oceans.”

The Microbead-Free Waters Act, introduced by Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), is an important step toward addressing the global crisis of microplastic pollution. One tube of exfoliating facewash, for example, can contain more than 350,000 microbeads, and it’s estimated that 2.9 trillion microbeads enter U.S. waterways annually.

Once in the environment, plastic microbeads concentrate toxins such as pesticides and flame retardants on their surface, which may then transfer to the tissue of fish that mistake microbeads for food. A recent study found that one quarter of fish purchased at California markets had ingested plastic.

At least nine states and numerous local jurisdictions already have bans on microbeads in personal-care products, creating a patchwork of differing laws on the synthetic particles.

Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously approved H.R. 1321 earlier this month.