According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 8 millions tons of plastic enter our oceans each year. Just over two-thirds of apparel manufactured today contains plastic.
In February of 2018, the Connecticut House of Representatives passed H.B. 5360 (originally S.B. 341), An Act Concerning Clothing Fiber Pollution, which established a working group of stakeholders in the apparel industry and environmental community to develop awareness and education campaigns about microfiber pollution. The group, led by environmental analyst Tom Metzner, hosted two day long sessions with group members. However, no developments have occurred since the report was published in 2020.
Save the Sound Soundkeeper Emma DeLoughry says that to date, there is no one that has closely tracked plastic pollution in the Long Island Sound, a costal estuary of the Greater New Haven Area.
The Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority services New Haven, Hamden, East Haven and Woodbridge. Despite processing 40 million gallons of water every day, the plant has no filter systems that can capture microfibers before wastewater is released into the environment, due to their microscopic size.
Gary Zrelak, Director of Operations at the Greater New Haven WPCA, preaches source control as the best method to address the microfiber pollution problem, while apparel leaders are in favor of end pipe solutions like filtration.
Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority
Plastic Soup Foundation: Ocean Clean Wash Campaign on Microfibers