Help Reduce Great Lakes Plastic Pollution!

image of Help Reduce Great Lakes Plastic Pollution!

The most prevalent type of microplastic pollution comes in the form of microfibers which are shed from synthetic clothing through washing. These contaminants infiltrate our water system and continue to be found in our drinking water, wildlife and the environment.

Georgian Bay Forever and the University of Toronto have been studying the impacts of microplastics/microfibers in Georgian Bay and have demonstrated that washing machine filters are effective at reducing microplastic/microfiber pollution at the source. Through their Divert and Capture research initiative, volunteers who installed microfiber filters on their washing machines collected over 20 kg of material estimated to ...

The most prevalent type of microplastic pollution comes in the form of microfibers which are shed from synthetic clothing through washing. These contaminants infiltrate our water system and continue to be found in our drinking water, wildlife and the environment.

Georgian Bay Forever and the University of Toronto have been studying the impacts of microplastics/microfibers in Georgian Bay and have demonstrated that washing machine filters are effective at reducing microplastic/microfiber pollution at the source. Through their Divert and Capture research initiative, volunteers who installed microfiber filters on their washing machines collected over 20 kg of material estimated to contain as much as 9.7 billion microfibers!

On March 21, 2023 MPP Jessica Bell introduced a private member’s bill to further protect our waterways from this microplastic pollution. Bill 83, formerly Bill 102, will amend the Environmental Protection Act to make sure that all washing machines are equiped with microplastic filters in the future. Becasue this is a private members bill, you can help bring this to the attention of Ontario MPPs by submitting an email letter to your MPP requesting their support.

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Email your local MPP

Help Reduce Plastic Pollution in the Great Lakes

Microfibers are the most common form of microplastics found in the Great Lakes. In a washing machine cycle, our clothes shed hundreds of thousands of microfibers and billions make their way through to water bodies daily winding up in the guts of many aquatic species and working their way up the food chain. This problem will only get worse unless action is taken.

Bill 83, formerly Bill 102, Environmental Protection Amendment Act (Microfibre Filters for Washing Machines), 2023 will make manufacturers responsible for installing microfiber filters on all new clothes washing machines. This bill needs to be approved by the Ontario Legislature and you can help it along! Please contact your local MPP using the email below to ask them to support this important piece of legislation and keep this pollutant out of our water!

For Ontario residents, all you need to do is provide your name, personal email address, and home postal code. The email will then be automatically generated for you to send from your email address directly to your Ontario MPP. For non-Ontario residents, please use your Ontario postal code (often this will be your nearest post office) and your email will be directed to the MPP where your cottage is located in Ontario.

Once the email is generated using the template below, you can amend it or send it as is, as you prefer.

Find your local rep

Subject:

I would like to request your support for MPP Jessica Bell’s Private Member's Bill 83, Environmental Protection Amendment Act (Microfibre Filters for Washing Machines), 2023, on protecting water from microfiber/plastic pollution by requiring filters on clothes washing machines. MPP Jessica Bell, University-Rosedale, introduced Bill 83 on March 21, 2023.

Why is this important? Microfibers, which are less than 5 mm in size, are the most prevalent type of microplastic and other anthropogenic particles polluting the environment, including our waterways. Microfibers are contaminating the Great Lakes and studies have found them in our drinking water and in various foods. Laboratory studies have shown that microfibers can often contain harmful chemicals, some of which are toxic, which can cause negative impacts on animals, including species of fish, birds, and more.

Hundreds of thousands of microfibers are released during every wash cycle of clothes, and an estimated 4.8 million tonnes of synthetic microfibers have entered water bodies and terrestrial environments since 1950.
 
Washing machine filters have been proven to capture up to 89% of these microfibers, and further research has shown this to have a significant impact in lowering the microfiber emissions from wastewater treatment plants into our waterways. This is an important step to protecting Ontario’s water quality, by effectively addressing one key microfiber pollutant at source.

I support the work of Georgian Bay Association and Georgian Bay Forever who are working together to reduce plastics pollution in the Great Lakes. For more information on why this issue is important, please see the 2021 microfibers policy brief: https://bit.ly/microfiber-brief and visit Georgian Bay Association's website: https://bit.ly/3FZO4XT

Ontario could take the lead in North America by joining France in enacting washing machine filter legislation, to stop this major source of microfiber/plastic pollution of our fresh water.

I trust that all-party support will be received for this important legislation.

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