2021-Apr-29
New Private Member's Bill Aims to Reduce Microplastic Pollution
On April 19, 2021 MPPs Ian Arthur and Jessica Bell introduced a Private Member’s Bill to further protect our waterways from microplastic pollution. Bill 102, formerly Bill 279, will amend the Environmental Protection Act to prohibit the future sale of washing machines that are not equipped with microplastic filters.
The most prevalent type of microplastic pollution comes in the form of microfibres which can be shed from synthetic clothing through washing. These contaminants infiltrate our water system and are harmful to drinking water, wildlife, and the environment. Georgian Bay Forever has been studying the impacts of microplastics in Georgian Bay and how these washing machine filters are critical to reducing microplastic pollution. Through their Divert and Capture research initiative volunteers who installed microfibre filters on their washing machines collected over 20kg of synthetic materials.
Read more about the bill here.