Vicious cycle: delicate wash releases more plastic microfibres

Study finds 800,000 extra fibres are shed than on standard washing machine setting

Delicate wash cycles should be avoided whenever possible, according to scientists who found they can release hundreds of thousands more plastic microfibres into the environment than standard wash cycles.

Researchers at Newcastle University ran tests with full-scale machines to show that a delicate wash, which uses up to twice as much water as a standard cycle, releases on average 800,000 more microfibres than less water-hungry cycles.

“Our findings were a surprise,” said Prof Grant Burgess, a marine microbiologist who led the research. “You would expect delicate washes to protect clothes and lead to less microfibres being released, but our careful studies showed that in fact it was the opposite.”

“If you wash your clothes on a delicate wash cycle the clothes release far more plastic fibres. These are microplastics, made from polyester. They are not biodegradable and can build up in our environment.”

 Newcastle University student Max Kelly, 24, holds up washing machine filters with microfibres collected following a delicate wash (L) and a normal cycle. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

The finding challenges the assumption that more aggressive washing cycles, which use less water, change direction more frequently and spin at higher speeds, release more fibres into wastewater. Instead, the volume of water used per wash appears to be the most important factor in dislodging fibres from clothing, the study found.

“If the water volume is high, the water will bash the clothes around more than if less water is used,” Burgess said. “The water forces its way through the clothing and plucks fibres of polyester from the textiles.”

The clothing industry produces more than 42m tonnes of synthetic fibres every year. The vast majority, about 80%, are used to make polyester garments. Previous tests have found that washing synthetic items can release between 500,000 and 6m microfibres per wash.

Because many washing machines lack filters that can remove microplastics from their wastewater, the fibres are carried into water treatment plants and can eventually reach the seas. The particles, which come from a variety of sources, are now ubiquitous in the environment, from the deepest marine trench in the Pacific Ocean to the pristine wilderness of Antarctica. Scientists have found the plastics in organisms at every level of the food chain from plankton to marine mammals.

It is unclear what health risk easily ingested microplastics pose to marine life, but researchers fear toxic chemicals in the plastics, and other compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which stick to them, could be harmful to the animals. The particles may also help spread disease-causing viruses and bacteria.

The Newcastle team measured the amount of microfibres released from black polyester T-shirts, first in a series of lab tests that mimicked full-scale washing machines, and then in real washing machines at a Procter & Gamble research centre. The results showed that earlier recommendations to use more water and less aggressive washing cycles may actually be releasing more microfibres into the environment.

Some washing machine manufacturers are introducing microfibre filters, but Mark Kelly, the first author of the study published in Environmental Science and Technology, said avoiding delicate washes and half loads would help to reduce the amounts of microfibres released by washing.

“This research is important as it helps to identify how microfibres are reaching the marine environment,” said Prof Tamara Galloway, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Exeter, who was not involved in the study.

“We have found microplastics in most of the marine animals we study, including turtles, seals and dolphins. Microfibres are the type of microplastics we find most frequently. Whilst we can’t say for sure what the health impacts of ingesting microfibres from textiles might be, minimising exposure has got to be a high priority for protecting the marine environment and the food chain.”

(Source: The Guardian)

Washing machines are going to get more expensive in US

President Trump is adding a tax on foreign-made washing machines that will likely make all washers more expensive in the United States.

The tax, or tariff, starts at 20% for the first 1.2 million imported washers this year. It then goes up to 50% for every other washer brought in after that.

Americans buy lots of washers from other countries, and trade experts have some advice.

"Anybody who is thinking about buying a washing machine should do it right away," said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

It's too soon to say how much price tags will go up -- but everyone agrees they will eventually head north.

A few factors are at play. For one, foreign-made washing machines will become more expensive to import. To remain competitive, manufacturers outside the U.S. likely won't pass the entire cost of the tariff onto customers, but prices will go up some.

The tariff could likely drive consumers away from foreign-made washers and give American-made washing machines a boost.

"Washer machine manufacturers importing products for the U.S. market are expected to face a significant price disadvantage as compared to U.S. domestic manufacturers," says Hye Ming Song, an expert on consumer appliances at Euromonitor International.

That means the largest U.S. manufacturer of washing machines, Whirlpool, now faces a little less foreign competition, paving the way for the company to raise its washer prices. Whirlpool hasn't indicated whether it will raise prices, but historically American companies tend to hike prices on customers when they face fewer foreign competitors due to tariffs or quotas.

Prices won't go up overnight -- trade experts say it will take a few months. Foreign-made washing machines have recently grown more popular in the United States, so home appliance stores like Home Depot and Lowe's may have a large inventory of washing machines stashed in their storage facilities.

Mexico exported to $240 million of washers to the United States in 2016; China sent $425 million worth; South Korean companies made $130 million of washers for the U.S. market, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent body that investigates trade complaints.

Samsung and LG are among the top exporters of washers to the United States. For Samsung, the tariffs are somewhat puzzling because it moved production of its washing machines two weeks ago to a new plant in South Carolina that will employ 600 Americans. Samsung said Monday that "everyone will pay more, with fewer choices." LG added that it was very disappointed with Trump's tariffs.

The tariffs add a wrinkle to the renegotiation of NAFTA, the trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada. Talks resumed Tuesday, and Mexican officials noted that they will respond to the tariffs.

But if Mexico retaliates, it may not be an old fashioned, tit-for-tat response, experts say. For example, Mexico buys lots of corn and soybeans from the United States. It's already been importing more of those commodities from Brazil and Argentina. Instead of adding a tariff on American corn or soy, Mexico could simply ramp up imports from South America.

"The Mexicans are in a good position there in terms of being able to retaliate without imposing costs on [Mexican] consumers," says Matthew Rooney, director of economic growth at the Bush Institute in Texas.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of NAFTA if talks fail to achieve a deal that benefits American manufacturing workers. That would be a negative for the economy.

"Growth in the United States will slow down dramatically if we pull out of NAFTA," Rooney adds. "Most of the downside of these policies won't be felt immediately ... the political price will come in 2019 and beyond."

(Source: CNN)

The difference between ‘a’ washing machine and a ‘great’ washing machine

The right machine can save water, power consumption, time, energy and your clothes from damage.

In 2010, Hans Rosling, a Swedish statistician, convinced a room full of people that the washing machine was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution. In the TED talk delivered by him, he illuminates how the washing machine freed women from doing hours of labour intensive laundry, giving them the time to read books and eventually join the labour force. Rosling’s argument rings true even today as it is difficult to deny the significance of the washing machine in our everyday lives.

For many households, buying a washing machine is a sizable investment. Oddly, buyers underestimate the importance of the decision-making process while buying one and don’t research the purchase as much as they would for a television or refrigerator. Most buyers limit their buying criteria to type, size and price of the washing machine.

Visible technological advancements can be seen all around us, making it fair to expect a lot more from household appliances, especially washing machines. Here are a few features to expect and look out for before investing in a washing machine:

Cover your basics
Do you wash your towels every day? How frequently do you do your laundry? Are you okay with a bit of manual intervention during the wash cycle? These questions will help filter the basic type of washing machine you need. The semi-automatics require manual intervention to move clothes from the washing tub to the drying tub and are priced lower than a fully-automatic. A fully-automatic comes in two types: front load and top load. Front loading machines use less water by rotating the inner drum and using gravity to move the clothes through water.

Size matters
The size or the capacity of the machine is directly proportional to the consumption of electricity. The right machine capacity depends on the daily requirement of the household. For instance, for couples or individuals, a 6kg capacity would be adequate whereas a family of four might need an 8 kg or bigger capacity for their laundry needs. This is an important factor to consider since the wrong decision can consume an unnecessary amount of electricity.

Machine intelligence that helps save time
In situations when time works against you and your laundry, features of a well-designed washing machine can come to rescue. There are programmes for urgent laundry needs that provide clean laundry in a super quick 15 to 30 minutes’ cycle; a time delay feature that can assist you to start the laundry at a desired time etc. Many of these features dispel the notion that longer wash cycles mean cleaner clothes. In fact, some washing machines come with pre-activated wash cycles that offer shortest wash cycles across all programmes without compromising on cleanliness.

The green quotient
Despite the conveniences washing machines offer, many of them also consume a substantial amount of electricity and water. By paying close attention to performance features, it’s possible to find washing machines that use less water and energy. For example, there are machines which can adjust the levels of water used based on the size of the load. The reduced water usage, in turn, helps reduce the usage of electricity. Further, machines that promise a silent, no-vibration wash don’t just reduce noise – they are also more efficient as they are designed to work with less friction, thus reducing the energy consumed.

Customisable washing modes
Crushed dresses, out-of-shape shirts and shrunken sweaters are stuff of laundry nightmares. Most of us would rather take out the time to hand wash our expensive items of clothing rather than trusting the washing machine. To get the dirt out of clothes, washing machines use speed to first agitate the clothes and spin the water out of them, a process that takes a toll on the fabric. Fortunately, advanced machines come equipped with washing modes that control speed and water temperature depending on the fabric. While jeans and towels can endure a high-speed tumble and spin action, delicate fabrics like silk need a gentler wash at low speeds. Some machines also have a monsoon mode. This is an India specific mode that gives clothes a hot rinse and spin to reduce drying time during monsoons. A super clean mode will use hot water to clean the clothes deeply.

Washing machines have come a long way, from a wooden drum powered by motor to high-tech machines that come equipped with automatic washing modes. Some washing machines include all the above-mentioned features and provide damage free laundry in an energy efficient way.

(Source: Scroll)