Laundry

Washing clothes may seem harmless, but each load can release hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fibers from synthetic fabrics into the water. Some of these microplastics are captured in sewage sludge that is often used as fertilizer, allowing the particles to spread onto agricultural fields. Others pass through wastewater systems and eventually into the ocean, where they accumulate in marine life. Laundry is an overlooked but major source of plastic pollution.