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Small microplastics and microfibers found in high concentrations around Kantamanto, the world’s largest secondhand textile market in Accra, Ghana: A citizen science study
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Researchers found shockingly high levels of microplastics and tiny fibers in the air and water around Ghana's massive secondhand clothing market, up to 100 times more than in other major cities worldwide. This pollution comes largely from unwanted clothes shipped from wealthier countries, meaning the environmental and health burden of our fast fashion habits (breathing in and being exposed to these particles) often falls on communities far away who never bought the clothes in the first place. The study is a wake-up call for stronger regulations on textile waste before it becomes an even bigger global health problem.
Kantamanto, located in Accra, Ghana, is the world’s largest secondhand resale and upcycling market for clothing and textiles, receiving tons of garments every week from countries in the Global North. This citizen science study looked at the abundance of textile microfibers and small microplastics associated with the market’s textile-rich environment and aimed to assess the dynamic ratio of microparticles in the market in relation to airborne and waterborne pollution. Continuous monitoring of air quality using PurpleAir sensors showed large concentrations of airborne microparticles around the market that dropped with rain events. Water collected from rain contained dozens to hundreds of microfibers and small microplastics (roughly in a 1:10 ratio), depending on the intensity of the rain and on whether the rain was preceded by a significant period of dry weather. Microfiber and microplastic counts from airborne samples showed concentrations about 20x to 100x greater, respectively, than those reported from other metropolises around the world. A comparison of concentrations from water in the adjacent Korle Lagoon was similarly striking, with up to 45x more microfibers, and up to 200x more microplastics than what has previously been reported for lagoon waters worldwide. This study also looked at the issue of whole garments as waste and found a strong similarity between the garment tags from global brand fashion items discarded in the market and those that were washed up on nearby beaches. Our results highlight the need for more holistic regulatory frameworks to address textile waste.
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Microplastics found in high concentrations around Kantamanto, the world’s largest secondhand textile market in Accra, Ghana: A citizen science study
AI summary Read the abstract
A citizen science investigation near Kantamanto — the world's largest secondhand clothing market in Accra, Ghana — found microplastic and microfiber concentrations in air, rain, and a nearby lagoon that were dramatically higher than anywhere else reported globally, up to 200 times more microplastics in the lagoon than other worldwide comparisons. The study links this extreme pollution to the massive volume of discarded fast-fashion garments exported from wealthy countries. The findings highlight how the global secondhand textile trade concentrates microplastic pollution in communities least responsible for producing it.
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This study assessed atmospheric microplastic pollution in Dhaka City's urban dust across ten major locations, finding widespread contamination dominated by fibers and fragments. Microplastic abundance was highest in areas with dense traffic and industrial activity, suggesting vehicle and garment sources as major contributors in this megacity.
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