{"id":493,"date":"2017-03-24T13:10:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T17:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/environmentalscience\/?p=493"},"modified":"2025-02-26T14:05:55","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T19:05:55","slug":"your-laundry-may-be-to-blame-for-tiny-plastic-water-pollutants-study-indicates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/environmentalscience\/2017\/your-laundry-may-be-to-blame-for-tiny-plastic-water-pollutants-study-indicates\/","title":{"rendered":"Your laundry may be to blame for tiny plastic water pollutants, study indicates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Your laundry may be to blame for tiny plastic water pollutants, study indicates\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n

http:\/\/ottawacitizen.com\/technology\/science\/your-laundry-may-be-to-blame-for-tiny-plastic-pollutants-study-indicates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your laundry may be to blame for tiny plastic water pollutants, study indicates<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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\"\" Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen<\/span>
\nMore from Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Published on: March 23, 2017 | Last Updated: March 23, 2017 10:37 AM EDT<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Water
A new study of microscopic plastic in the Ottawa River pinpoints tiny synthetic fibres from clothing such as synthetic fleece.<\/span> Darren Brown \/ DARREN BROWN\/QMI AGENCY<\/span>

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As tiny bits of plastic build up in lakes and rivers, there\u2019s a new suggestion that everyone has been wrong about where most of this plastic pollution comes from.<\/p>\n

The common perception is that little round \u201cbeads\u201d of plastic from skin care products and toothpaste are to blame.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s now evidence that the real source is much simpler. It\u2019s your laundry.<\/p>\n

A new study of microscopic plastic<\/a> in the Ottawa River pinpoints tiny synthetic fibres from clothing, says the study\u2019s main author, Jesse Vermaire, an environmental scientist at Carleton University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised just how prevalent they are. When we first started looking for micro plastics we were looking for microbeads. We did see a few of those, like a few per cent. One to five per cent of all the plastics we found were microbeads but fibres were most of the plastics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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