Commercialisation of a retrofittable microplastics filter for domestic washing machines

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Microplastics in the environment are poisoning the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe. Microfibres are the most abundant form of microplastic pollution in our rivers and oceans. These are strands of plastic thread, less than 5mm long, that are formed from a vital resource: our clothes.Synthetic textiles, such as Nylon and Lycra, now make up over 60% of our clothing. In the UK alone, it is estimated that at least 9 trillion microfibres, from all material types, are released into the wastewater system every week. Around 700,000 microfibres are released with each domestic washing cycle through wastewater and flow into the natural environment. Microfibres are now the single biggest source of primary microplastics entering our oceans.Due to their microscopic scale, microfibres are eaten by, and harm, sea-life from plankton to top predators. These organisms produce 80% of the world's oxygen and absorb the largest amount of carbon on the planet -- more than all trees and plant-life combined. This pervasiveness results in their transfer to humans, where contamination has been observed in crustaceans, molluscs and fish species destined for human consumption.Matter is a pioneering microplastic capture company working to stop the flow of plastic waste into the ocean. Having successfully designed a filter that stops microfibre pollution from domestic washing machines, this project will make home microfibre filtration available to all. We will create the first microfibre filter that can be used with any washing machine, whatever the make or age, to capture microfibres as they leave the machine in wastewater, without the need for disposables, cartridges or replaceable components.Furthermore, the system will enable the recycling of microfibres. This resource stream has many applications, including the production of sustainable new products that reduce the need for new plastics and increase participation in the circular economy.This disruptive innovation will have many positive economic and environmental impacts. It will provide a UK designed filtration system for international export, create a new UK based supply chain, bring together a network of businesses, and create new jobs. Collaboration with academia will facilitate knowledge transfer within the emerging field of microplastics and will provide confidence in the final system by scientifically validating the product. The success of this project will enable billions of microfibres to be captured, creating value from an otherwise wasted resource that is polluting the natural environment.