ALBANY COUNTY — The Albany County Legislature voted unanimously Monday to ban the sale of products that contain microbeads — small plastic pellets used in cosmetics that may end up in the food chain.

“This is an important issue for environmental and health reasons,” said Albany County Legislator Bryan Clenahan, who represents Guilderland and wrote the bill. He said that 19 tons of microbeads are released into New York’s waterways each year. The plastic beads, used in face creams and toothpastes, are too small to be filtered at wastewater plants and, once released into a water source, absorb pollutants like PCBs. The microbeads are then ingested by small creatures and enter the food chain, he said.

If county Executive Daniel McCoy signs the legislation, Albany County would be the fifth in the state to ban microbeads.

When the New York State Senate ended its legislative session in June, it failed to pass the Microbead-Free Waters Act, which had passed in the State Assembly by a vote of 139-1; the bill died in the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee despite being cosponsored by nearly 60 percent of all senators, according to a press release issued by Clenahan and his supporters.

Since then, Clenahan told The Enterprise, representatives have worked in lower governmental levels “to protect our own waterways. Erie County was the first to pass a ban in August. Four counties have enacted a microbead ban, and others are considering a ban, including the New York City Council.”

Clenahan said that local representatives have three options for dealing with microbeads.

“We can do nothing, which is unacceptable,” he said.

Towns could update their wastewater plants to filter out microbeads, which would cost taxpayers millions of dollars, he said.

The third option, Clenahan said, is “to go to the source and keep products from coming into our county.”

In the mid-1990s, he said, cosmetics used natural, biodegradable ingredients. After that point, manufacturers turned to cheaper plastic options, he said.

Legislation like the microbead ban should motivate the industry to go back to the way it did business before, with natural ingredients, he said.

Some companies, like Bed, Bath and Beyond, are committing to eliminating products with microbeads from items they sell, Clenahan said.

“We’re part of a growing trend here,” he told The Enterprise. “Industry is taking note of it.”

The ban passed by the county legislature would impose penalties on stores that sell products with microbeads, and go into effect six months after McCoy signs it, Clenahan said. The half-year period is meant to give stores time to tell their distributors about the ban and changes in inventory.

McCoy was set to receive the bill on Tuesday, Clenahan said.

“We have yet to receive the information from the legislature,” said Mary Rozak, the director of communications for the county executive. She said that the executive has 30 days to respond with a decision, during which time he will hold a public hearing on the issue.

“The county executive has not said” what his opinion is on a microbead ban, Rozak said. “He will always listen to the public before he makes a determination.”

During his re-election campaign, The Enterprise asked McCoy about Albany County as a nanny county, passing safety laws like the county’s toxic toy law that may be difficult to enforce.

“It starts a whole movement,” McCoy said then. “We want to educate people that there are dangers,” he said. “We do get a little carried away.”

Clenahan said that enforcement of the law would be performed by the county’s Department of Weights and Measures, which handles similar issues.

“We expect to have a lot of citizen compliance,” Clenahan said. “We should be able to enforce this very well.”

Stores found with a first-time offense would face a small monetary penalty, he said, with fees increasing with subsequent offenses.

Nine legislators were absent for Monday’s vote, Clenahan said. The vote was 30 to 0 in favor of banning microbeads in county stores, he said.