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Fluffy Rivers: How Our Clothes Can Harm Rivers and The Oceans

Stanton, Thomas; Johnson, Matthew; Gomes, Rachel Louise; Nathanail, Paul; Macnaughtan, William; Kay, Paul

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Authors

Thomas Stanton

Paul Nathanail

William Macnaughtan

Paul Kay



Abstract

Microplastics are one of the most well-known types of environmental pollution. A microplastic is any piece of plastic smaller than 5 mm (about the size of one of the circles on top of a Lego® block). Microplastics come in a variety of shapes and they can be eaten by even the smallest animals, blocking their stomachs and intestines. Many of the clothes that we wear are made from microplastic fibers. These fibers are released from our clothes when we wear and wash them, and they can eventually end up in the environment. We collected water samples from three rivers in the UK over 12 months, to see if they contained microplastic fibers. All the rivers contained clothing fibers, but most of the fibers were not made from plastics. Natural fibers made from materials like cotton (from plants) and wool (from sheep) were much more common than plastic fibers.

Citation

Stanton, T., Johnson, M., Gomes, R. L., Nathanail, P., Macnaughtan, W., & Kay, P. (2022). Fluffy Rivers: How Our Clothes Can Harm Rivers and The Oceans. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10, Article 743943. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.743943

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 26, 2022
Online Publication Date May 25, 2022
Publication Date May 25, 2022
Deposit Date May 12, 2022
Publicly Available Date May 12, 2022
Journal Frontiers for Young Minds
Print ISSN 2296-6846
Publisher Frontiers Media
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Article Number 743943
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.743943
Keywords General Materials Science
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/8046817
Publisher URL https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2022.743943

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