12 September

Microplastics are a big issue now. The two greatest sources of them are washing your clothes, and car tyres. You can buy filters for your washing machine output now that stop the microfibres entering the sewer system and therefore waterways. Not much you can do about car tyre wear. But some of this is behavioural/cultural too. Like how many clothes we own, and how often we wash. I was speaking to a Gen Z person this week, who lives with their partner. Just the two of them, in their mid-20s. They wash 5 times every week. 5 times! How does a young couple generate 5 loads of washing a week?