Over the past few years, there has been an increasing awareness on the impact microplastics have on oceans and the environment. But they are not the only tiny particles that are having a devastating environmental effect.
As we wash our clothes, tiny fibres from synthetic fabrics are released and leaked into the environment. And scientists have now revealed just how much of this ‘fluff’ has contaminated land, oceans and rivers around the world.
Since the popularisation of fabrics like nylon and polyester in the 1950s, around 5.6 million tonnes of fibres have been released into the environment, scientists in the US estimate – the equivalent of seven billion fleece jackets.
Around 2.9 million tonnes of these fibres – less than 5mm in length - have made their way into the world’s oceans.
However, the problem with this fluff is that it is having an increasing impact on land. According to the team at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which carried out the study, the number of fibres remaining on land has overtaken those being leaked into oceans thanks to advances in wastewater treatment works, which have made plants extremely good at catching the particles.
But once it has been captured, this fluff is being applied to cropland alongside biosolid sludge, or simply being buried in landfills.
The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Plos One, indicate yearly microfibre emissions to landfill and other terrestrial environments exceeding 167,000 metric tonnes each year.
The true numbers are, however, extremely difficult for researchers to calculate. The team at USCB looked at data on how plastic is made, consumed, and then shed around the world. They also needed to look at the impact of both machine and hand washing, and estimate the number of people who do each and at what frequency, as well as looking at the effect different detergents can have on the shedding of microfibres.
The results estimated that, between 1950 and 2016, 5.6 million tonnes of this fluff was released from clothes washed, with around half of these emissions occurring in the past 10 years. This is, in part, down to the rise in fast fashion and our growing collection of clothes. In 1990, researchers say the global average stock of garments per head was 8kg. By 2016, it was 26kg per capita.
With emissions growing by 12.9 per cent each year, researchers say more needs to be done to reduce plastic fibre pollution.
"Large-scale removal of microfibres from the environment is unlikely to be technically feasible or economically viable, so the focus needs to be on emission prevention," the study’s lead author Jenna Gavigan said.
"Since wastewater treatment plants don't necessarily reduce emissions to the environment, our focus needs to be on reducing emissions before they enter the wastewater stream."
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Match info
Australia 580
Pakistan 240 and 335
Result: Australia win by an innings and five runs
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
HWJN
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
