Evaluation and Mitigation

he washing of synthetic fabrics has been identified recently as one of the major contributors to the global release of primary microplastics to the oceans (Boucher and Friot 2017). First records of the presence of synthetic fibers coming from clothes washing machines, which end in sludge and sewage treatment plant effluents, were reported two decades ago (Habib, Locke, and Cannone 1998; Zubris and Richards 2005). Such fibers were shown to be persistent in both treated wastewater effluents and sludge produced by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs)(Zubris and Richards 2005). Microplastics with fibrous shape were also found by Thompson et al.(2004) during a campaign sampling different beaches, estuaries, and coasts in the United Kingdom. The identified synthetic polymers were acrylic, polyamide, polyester, and polypropylene (Thompson et al. 2004). Despite these first accounts, it was only in 2011 that the presence of microplastics with a fibrous shape found in marine sediments was directly correlated to the washing of garments; this was done by comparing the proportions of polyester and acrylic fibers used in apparel with those found in habitats receiving sewage discharges and effluents (Browne et al. 2011). Synthetic fibers like polyester and polyamides represent a large cut (60%) of the global consumption of fibers in the apparel industry. The same global amount of fibers for apparel has been constantly increasing in the last two decades, exactly due to a 300% growth of the market of synthetic fibers in the same period (Boucher and Friot 2017).