Are clothes dryers a source of microplastics to the atmosphere?

Abstract:

Microplastics are small plastic particles (less than 5 mm) and have been found all over the globe, including in remote locations. Plastic use worldwide continues to increase, and more than half of textiles contain plastics. Studies have shown that washing synthetic clothing is a source of microplastic contamination to the environment when microfibers are released with wastewater. However, only a few studies to date have focused on the drying process as a source of microplastic contamination. Dryers vent lint and other particulates into the atmosphere which potentially include microplastics – much of the time with little to no mechanism to prevent plastic particles from reaching the air, land, or water.

To better understand dryer emission of microplastics, we recruited citizen scientists to install a fine mesh on their dryer vent for three weeks. During that time, the citizen scientists recorded their general drying habits using the Citizen Science Tahoe mobile application. The mesh was returned to the laboratory, the accumulated material was removed from the mesh, weighed, and analyzed to identify microplastic fibers. Initial results demonstrate that dryer emissions are dominated by natural fibers, however plastic fibers do comprise a portion of the emissions, potentially indicating an important source of microplastics to the atmosphere.