FROM LAUNDRY DAY TO YOUR DINNER PLATE
Just because something disappears in your washer doesn’t always mean it’s gone for good. Learn what happens when certain laundry pods and sheets break down in your washing machine—and where those hidden microplastics may end up next.
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
It starts innocently enough: you throw a laundry pod or sheet containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) into the washing machine.
FILTERING OUT THE YUCK
After flowing through a network of pipes, waste water passes through a series of physical, chemical and biological processes to remove nasty gunk and pollutants.
BIOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN
Microbes are used to break down organic waste, but synthetic PVA isn't easily digested. It needs specific conditions many plants aren't set up for, so PVA often slips through only partially degraded.*
INTO THE ENVIRONMENT
Treated water is released back into nature. If PVA hasn't fully broken down, those tiny microplastic pieces go right along with it into our rivers, lakes and oceans.
MICROPLASTICS ON THE MENU
Tiny PVA particles** are easily mistaken for food and gobbled up by fish and other marine life, making their way up the food chain potentially back onto our plates and into our bodies.
WANT TO GO DEEPER
Eliminating microplastics isn’t a simple task. But learning where they come from and how they affect our world can help us make better choices. See what scientists and researchers are saying.
