Laundry Microplastics

Did you know?
​Every time you wash certain synthetic fabrics, millions of microfibers are released into the water.
Microfibers are too small to be filtered out by waste treatment plants, so they end up in our septic systems and our waterways and oceans, where they affect marine animals and the environment.  Textiles used in the manufacturing of garments are often processed with hazardous chemicals throughout production and finishing. When the fibers from these garments are shed, these coatings are as well, and they both enter septic systems and wastewater treatment plants in large volumes.   

A 2016 study commissioned by outdoor clothing company Patagonia with graduate students from the University of California Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management  found that we are sending significant amounts into rivers and oceans every day.

Microplastics have been recovered from the gastrointestinal tracts and tissues of zooplankton, shrimp, mussels, many fish and whales.  According to the research team, microfiber pollution is troubling on two levels.
 

• First, it means that animals considered to be filter feeders such as oysters and mussels, which eat by straining food particles out of water, are directly intaking the fibers. Microfibers have been found in oysters and clams.
• Second, synthetic fibers (unlike natural ones like wool or cotton) are prone to absorbing chemicals. That means microfibers could potentially pick up chemicals while they travel through wastewater treatment plants, or that they could make it into oceans or streams carrying the chemicals originally added to the clothing they came from.

 
When you do your laundry you can reduce microfiber pollution by:
 

• Washing synthetic clothes less frequently and for a shorter duration.

• Trying to purchase higher quality products as these are likely to shed less fibers during each wash cycle.
• Filling up your washing machine. Washing a full load results in less friction between the clothes and fewer fibers released.
• Switching to a liquid laundry soap. Laundry powder scrubs and loosens more microfibers.
• Using a colder wash setting. Higher temperature can damage clothes and release more fibers.
• Using a front loading instead of top loading washing machine.  Research reveals that top-loading washing machines cause microfiber shedding at a rate almost six times as high as front-loading. (Note: no find information on top-loading machines without center agitators.)
• Installing a washing machine lint filter for your water discharge.
• Purchasing a microfiber trapping laundry bag or ball.
• Using a septic tank filter to catch microfibers.

 
There are a variety of products available on-line to help reduce microfiber pollution.  I am going to try a Guppyfriend, a bag to hold synthetic garments, to trap microfibers which is touted to be 90% effective.  I also saw filters for effluent from washing machines including the Lint LUV-R and Filtrol Lint Filter.  Let us know what you find! 

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