Reducing Plastic Microfiber Shedding from Laundry

The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by WWF International Team Coordinator – Freshwater Practice Lucy Polhill.

Microfibers are plastic particles (less than five mm) that shed from clothing. Each year, approximately 500,000 tons of microfibers—the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles—enter the ocean from washing clothes. Microfibers shed from clothing when washed, and enter rivers, lakes and oceans through wastewater treatment plants. Laundering of synthetic fibers is responsible for approximately one-third of microplastics in the ocean.

University of Toronto Marine and Freshwater Scientist Chelsea Rochman stated: “We find these tiny fibers in samples from headwater streams, rivers, soils, lakes, sediments, ocean water, the deep-sea, wildlife, arctic sea ice, seafood, drinking water and table salt. In our own samples from the Laurentian Great Lakes, our research lab sometimes finds more than 100 microfibers in an individual fish. Such widespread exposure raises concerns about effects to wildlife and human health.”

Have you checked the label of your clothing? Your clothes are made up of synthetic plastics such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. Everyone’s closet is filled with plastic.

But let’s face it, we can’t always avoid it. Most of our workout clothes and waterproof clothing, such as raincoats, contain plastics, and throwing away all of your clothes that contain plastic is not so sustainable either. So how can we prevent plastic microfiber shedding?

• When using your washing machine, wash on cold for a shorter time.
• Avoid the dryer all together. Hang dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. A pilot study found that dryers release more microfibers than washing machines.
• Use a plastic capture device in your washing machine to catch microfibers shedding from clothes while washing. Rochman wrote in an Ocean Conservancy blog that Cora Balls and Lint LUV-R offer “simple solutions to help reduce the number of microfibers that enter our environment each day.”