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Global Microplastic Fiber Pollution from Domestic Laundry
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Measuring microfiber emissions from household laundry in Greek homes, researchers found over 63,000 fibers released per wash cycle, estimating that a city of 100,000 residents emits more than 359 billion microfibers annually — with roughly 5.2 kg reaching aquatic environments even with 99.9% wastewater treatment retention. This scale of domestic laundry emissions underscores the need for upstream textile innovations and in-machine filtration to meaningfully reduce microfiber pollution at its source.
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