The dumping of 26,250 kilos of tiny plastic pellets spilled by the ship Tocoano in mid-December off the coast of Portugal, but which spread towards Galicia, is undoubtedly an environmental disaster, but it is worth putting it in perspective . Accidents like this are by no means the main cause of toxic waste in the sea. Most of the microplastics that pollute the waters come from homes.
So there is something very effective that we can do on an individual scale. Or rather: stop doing.
Several investigations carried out in recent years conclude that washing clothes releases thousands of microplastics into the environment. Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge notes that up to a third of these toxic substances in the oceans come from washing clothes. The data comes from a study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, an international organization with more than 120,000 members in 140 countries.
Other earlier research from the University of Plymouth concluded that a single load of laundry can release several million microfibres. These microplastics travel from clothes to pipes and from there to the ground. Even the most advanced sewage treatment plants do not completely remove these microplastics, as sewage sludge is often used as fertiliser, allowing the microfibres to persist in the environment, so much of ‘these wastes overcome the purification processes and end up not only in the marine environment, but also in other natural spaces and even in the stomachs of animals and humans. We end up accidentally ingesting them one way or another.
Not all tissues are equally harmful. Garments made from natural fibers, such as cotton and wool, shed less microfibers. Acrylic and polyester fabrics release many more toxic substances into the environment.
Reducing the volume of microplastics we throw into nature is a reasonably feasible goal. It is required, first of all, to be informed about what we do wrong, and secondly, to raise our awareness to do better, without this substantially affecting our habits and quality of life.
Some countries have already taken steps on their own to address the problem. In February 2020, France approved a regulation that obliges washing machine manufacturers to equip household appliances with microplastic filters. The law will enter into force less than a year from now, on January 1, 2025. This means that companies will have to innovate in the production of the devices, which implies an additional cost that will most likely have an impact on consumers.
This is why proposals similar to the French one have failed in other parts of the world. The governor of California, for example, vetoed such a proposed law in 2023. There are other products and devices specifically designed to capture microfibers during washing: specific laundry bags to absorb them (the clothes in these bags and put in the washing machine) and other external filters capable of capturing up to 90% of the microfibers that are generated during a wash cycle. They are alternative solutions in the short or medium term.
The most effective, however, would be to work with a broad vision to manufacture clothes with textile materials that do not release microfibres, but to achieve this it will be necessary to impose regulations on the manufacturers, who will surely oppose it drastically.
