Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gaylarde, Christine
• Baptista-Neto, Jose Antonio
• da Fonseca, Estefan Monteiro

Titel

Plastic microfibre pollution: how important is clothes’ laundering?

Ist Teil von

• Heliyon, 2021-05, Vol.7 (5), p.e07105, Article e07105

Ort / Verlag

England: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• •Microfibres from clothes laundering are the main source of primary microplastics in oceans.•Fibres are frequently the most common plastics found in aquatic animals.•The main plastic in polluting microplastics is PET.•Various toxic substances are incorporated in textile microfibres.•Fibres contribute up to 90% total plastic mass in wastewater treatment plants.•A Standard Test is required to allow the development of microfibre release control actions. Microplastics; Microfibres; PET; Laundry effluent; Waste treatment plants; Ecotoxicity. Plastic microfibre pollution produced by domestic and commercial laundering of synthetic textiles has recently been incriminated in the press and the scientific literature as the main source (up to 90%) of primary microplastics in the oceans. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the most common microfibre encountered. This review aims to provide updated information on worldwide plastic microfibre pollution caused by textile laundering and some possibilities for its control. Release of microfibres during domestic washing and tumble drying, their fate in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the oceans, and their environmental effects on the aquatic biota are discussed, as well as potential control methods at the levels of textile modification and laundry procedures. Environmental effects on aquatic biota are important; as a result of their small size and length-to-diameter ratio, microfibers are more effectively incorporated by organisms than other plastic particle groups. Simulation laundering studies may be useful in the development of a Standard Test Method and modification of WWTPs may reduce microfibre release into aquatic systems. However, improvements will be necessary in textile design and appliance design, and recommendations should be made to consumers about reducing their personal impact on the environment through their laundering choices, which can include appliances, fabric care products and washing conditions. Official regulation, such as that introduced recently by the French government, may be necessary to reduce plastic microfibre release from clothes’ laundering.