2022-Feb-07
Support Bill 102 (formerly Bill 279) and Help Reduce Plastic Pollution in the Great Lakes
Microfibres are the most prevalent type of microplastic pollution in our environment. In a washing machine cycle, our clothes can shed up to hundreds of thousands of microfibers that go down the drain to wastewater treatment plants, where many are caught, but billions get through to water bodies like Georgian Bay daily. Studies have shown microfibre/plastic pollution is in our drinking water, is being found in the guts of many aquatic species and is travelling up the food chain.
Georgian Bay Forever’s Divert and Capture research initiative with the Rochman Laboratory at the University of Toronto studied the impacts of washing machine filters and have demonstrated that filters are effective at reducing microplastic/microfibre pollution at the source. Bill 102, formerly Bill 279, Environmental Protection Amendment Act (Microplastics Filters for Washing Machines), 2022, which will require new clothes washing machines to have filters installed by manufacturers, needs to be approved by the Ontario Legislature. Your help is needed. GBA has set up a webpage where you can get full background details to quickly and easily confirm your support for this important initiative to protect our environment and the health of you and your family. Please send a letter to your MPP today to show your support.
