PROJECT HIGHLIGHT
Electronic clothes dryers may be a primary source of plastic microfiber pollution — which constitutes the most common form of microplastic pollution globally and is the dominant form of microplastic ingested by humans and wildlife. By examining dryers in various settings in the San Francisco Bay Region, this project will provide the first estimates of real-world dryer microplastic emission rates and assess whether secondary filters offer a viable solution for reducing pollution.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Modern textiles often include plastic fibers, which as they’re shed from the clothes can spread into the environment. Now plastic microfibers are the most ubiquitous form of microplastic pollution reported globally, as well as the dominant form of microplastic ingested by humans and wildlife. But precisely how these fibers reach the environment is not clear. Many researchers once assumed that wastewater streams from clothes washing machines were the major source, but recent studies suggest that exhaust from clothes dryers may be a bigger culprit.
This project will investigate that hypothesis. Community science volunteers will collect samples from dryer exhaust at residences and laundromats in the watershed surrounding the San Francisco Bay. Based on this data, the research team will build a model to estimate the plastic loads reaching the bay. The results will be compared with previous estimates of total urban stormwater runoff loadings of microplastics to the bay so as to reveal the relative importance of dryer emissions.
The research team will also assess whether installing secondary filters on dryer vents can significantly reduce microplastic pollution. While focused on the San Francisco Bay, the findings will be widely useful across North American urban settings, where vented drying units are common.