Common cleaning sponge found to release trillions of microplastic fibers

Common cleaning sponge found to release trillions of microplastic fibers sciencedaily.com

That “magic” sponge under your sink may be hiding an environmental downside. While melamine sponges are famous for effortlessly scrubbing away stubborn stains, they slowly break down as you use them—shedding tiny…

17 points•littlexsparkee•5 days ago•9 comments•

#sponge #cleaning #trillions #common #microplastic #fibers #cleaning sponge #common cleaning

9 comments

smalltorch5 days ago

>Once rinsed down the drain, these fibers can enter wastewater systems. From there, they may pass through treatment plants and end up in rivers, lakes, or oceans.

I don't think anyone is using these types of sponges for the dishes. If you think of it for what it is (fine sandpaper) the sponge isn't making it very far and I don't think there is much of a risk at all.

Suppafly5 days ago

I've seen people replace regular sponge with them for basically all of their cleaning needs. I constantly tell people, they work by being abrasive, so you're often slowly ruining whatever you're cleaning with them.

cyanydeez3 days ago

Moh's hardness scale whats a word with you.

That's only true if they're less hard than whatever this is.

I use these sponges to get food off plates. They are definitely not harder than the plate and are not ruining it. Nor are they ruining stainless steel.

Maybe wood varnish is what you're refering to, or pain on a wall, etc.

As far as the microplastics angle, yeah, these things just literally disintegrate along with the crap, particularly oils, they pick up. That's why they're so useful. Add some soap to them and they get even better at washing.

BugsJustFindMe5 days ago

You use them with water, which then gets dumped. Dishes aren't relevant.

genxy5 days ago

But they confidently dismissed the research and said don't worry.

joinHNtheysaid4 days ago

Eh most treatmant plants fish that out and sell sewage sludge to farmers. That sponge is in next years food.

swagasaurus-rex5 days ago

So are the porous yellow with the rough green back sponges better?

hugo17895 days ago

Yes they are. You can easily see it as the sponge keeps its form, whereas the melamine one shrinks on every use.

Read the full thread on Hacker News →

9 comments

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