Microplastics & You...

Plastic is everywhere. And nearly half of it gets thrown away after a single use. And, despite the 'recycling' triangle printed on plastic, very little can actually be recycled (aka it’s really trash). The great majority of plastic ends up in toxic incinerators, landfills, waterways, beaches, or as microplastics in everything from rain to animal stomachs to human placentas. Microplastics are small plastic bits that can pass unchanged through waterways and into the ocean. Most plastics that do end up in the ocean, eventually and inevitably break up into microplastics, or worse, nanoplastics. 

Laundry drainage is a major source of microplastic pollution in our waterways, streams, creeks, lakes, and oceans. By one estimate, each cycle of a washing machine releases more than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibers into the environment.

As a refill shop aimed at reducing single-use waste, we wanted to provide methods to effectively divert microplastic from leaving our homes and entering our waterways. 

Meet our microplastic washing machine filter... Filtrol
A recent study by the University of Toronto found that the Filtrol filter is effective at removing 89% of microfibers from your washing machine. The Filtrol uses a reusable mesh filter to stop microfiber pollution, removing non-biodegradable fibers (like microfibers, microplastics, polyester, nylon, sand, hair, and pet fur) from your washer’s discharge before they make their way into lakes, streams, and drinking water.

Meet our microplastic catching washing bag... Guppyfriend
Much of our clothing contains synthetic material that, when washed, breaks off as microplastics and enters wastewater and eventually our oceans. This is exactly where the Guppyfriend washing bag comes in. On average, 86% fewer fibers of synthetic clothing break when washed with this washing bag. The fibers that do break collect in the corners of the washing bag after washing and can be easily removed and disposed of, avoiding entering our waterways.

So, at the refill shop, we like to use the tagline 'Mind Your Waste'. Minding our microplastic waste is all part of the process.

See You At The Shop,
The Re-Up Refills Team : )