Microplastics from synthetic clothes: environmental impact and mitigation strategies

Microplastics represent a new and very alarming source of pollution for marine environment. Classified as plastic fragments smaller than 5 mm, they mainly derive from the deterioration of scraps of large dimensions, from abrasives or from cosmetics. However, in 2011, another source was identified in the domestic and industrial washing processes of synthetic clothes. The real impact of this newly discovered source of microplastics is not clear yet, so quantitative investigations are highly necessary. For this purpose, the present work aims to assess the role of domestic and industrial washing processes of synthetic clothes, on the release of microfibres. Firstly, standard fabrics were washed simulating both industrial and domestic washing processes, using different detergents and washing conditions. The washing liquor was then filtered and the filters were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A specific counting method was set up to evaluate the amount of microfibres contained in each filter. Secondly, several finishing treatments were applied on the fabrics to prevent or reduce the amount of microplastics released during the washing process. The obtained results identified the best detergents, washing conditions and treatments to use in order to mitigate the impact of such source of pollutants.