You can almost guarantee when we short cut nature for convenience somewhere down the line nature pays the price. The micro fibres of easy wash, quick drying, low iron synthetic clothes go down the gurgler and eventually end up squatting in coastal marine habitats.
In a paper published in Environmental Research & Technology, marine biologists from Australia, Canada, and the U.K. reported that microplastic comprised of fibers less than 1 mm in length is accumulating in marine habitats on shorelines throughout the world and suggested that polyester and acrylic fibers from wastewater are a major source of this contamination. A single synthetic garment, the study found, can yield more than 1,900 microfibers per wash.
While the effect of accumulated microplastic on marine habitats is not known, the researchers say the fibers represent “a potential pathway for the transfer of pollutants, monomers, and plastic additives to organisms.” An abstract of the study is available at www.pubs.acs.org. –amended from article by Paula Melton
Synthetic Fibres bleed into marine habitats
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