A new report analyzes Canada's contribution to a global problem and how the country might help fix it.
Every year, Canadians doing their laundry are responsible for releasing 1,465 tonnes of microplastics into the environment, a new report has found.
By the early 2000s, scientists started to recognize the reach of plastic pollution extended far beyond what could be easily spotted with the human eye. Ocean plastics found everywhere in Canada The latest report analyzed more than two decades of research looking at microplastics, with a particular focus on how they have accumulated across Canada’s lands and waters.
Health effects of microplastics not fully understood Research has found microplastics are inhaled, absorbed through the skin and consumed through food and water — all eventually ending up in our lungs, livers, kidneys and even placentas. In an Italian study published a year later, researchers examining the breast milk of 36 women found microplastics in over 75 per cent of the samples. Patient data showed no links between the presence of microplastics and patients' age, use of personal care products, or food consumption habits. “There’s a lot of concern that we're getting exposed chronically through breathing, drinking, eating, and these particles are floating around our system,” Ross said.
“My laundry and your laundry, everybody's washing machine is shedding fibres, millions of fibres every single time we wash,” said Ross. A call for regulation, education and diplomacy It’s a recipe for environmental protection the scientist says is well developed in education campaigns in places like Metro Vancouver. The regional body’s wastewater treatment plants tend to capture up to 95 per cent of microfibres flushed into sewers.
The report calls on the Canadian federal government — which is currently charting a road map to reduce microplastics — to advance its plans to regulate the textile industry through performance standards and move away from a culture of ‘fast fashion.’
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canada Post strike leaves Canadians, foreign nationals stuck waiting for critical documentsA Canada Post mail sorting facility in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024.
Read more »
Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: pollA new poll suggests Canadians are supportive of government intervention in the labour disputes at ports and at Canada Post.
Read more »
Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: pollOTTAWA — A new poll suggests Canadians are supportive of government intervention in the labour disputes at ports and at Canada Post.
Read more »
Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: pollOTTAWA — A new poll suggests Canadians are supportive of government intervention in the labour disputes at ports and at Canada Post.
Read more »
Survey says Canadians want Ottawa to step into Canada Post, port disputesLeger found 63 per cent favoured intervention in port dispute, 57 in mail strike
Read more »
Canadians favour government intervention in Canada Post, port labour disputes: pollA new poll suggests Canadians are supportive of government intervention in the labour disputes at ports and at Canada Post.
Read more »