Paris (AFP)

France has launched the installation of plastic microfibers filters in washing machines, a world first intended to fight against pollution of the oceans.

"Is it feasible? The answer is yes, because we have no choice," said Secretary of State for Ecological Transition Brune Poirson on Monday after a round table where it brought together manufacturers of washing machines, "innovators" who work on filter solutions, NGOs and consumer associations.

As of January 1, 2025, new washing machines sold in France, to professionals and individuals, must be fitted with filters intended to prevent microscopic plastic fibers released from clothing from washing during washing. The measure is included in the anti-waste law for a circular economy, promulgated last week.

The plastics used in the clothing industry (polyester, acrylic, elastane) indeed release during washing particles too small to be filtered in treatment plants, which are found in the environment and especially in the oceans.

Microplastics represent between 15% and almost a third of the approximately 9.5 million tonnes of plastics dumped each year at sea, according to figures from the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

- Bring the dossier to European level -

"It is a challenge, it is very difficult (...) it will not happen overnight" and "it requires a lot of work on the part of the manufacturers" and in particular "technological changes", acknowledged Brown Poirson. But "we must act," insisted the secretary of state, who now wants to take the matter to the European level "to ensure that this measure is not just a French measure".

On the manufacturers' side, this first meeting is considered "constructive" because it "made it possible to raise many economic, technical and usage questions", according to a declaration from their professional federation (Gifam) transmitted to AFP.

The manufacturers undertake to "do everything in their power (...) to find effective solutions" with a view to "reducing plastic pollution". But they insist that the public authorities guarantee "healthy competition between the players" and also call for action on a European scale.

Brune Poirson wants to encourage manufacturers to integrate the filters into their devices as soon as possible, which would allow them to obtain an environmental bonus if they do so before 2025.

"We do not put all the responsibility on the manufacturers of washing machines", she underlined: the solution also goes through the textile sector (manufacturers and distributors of clothes) with which it has also started discussions.

"We should be optimistic," said Mojca Zupan, managing director of the start-up Planet Care, which has developed microplastic filters for washing machines.

"We have a solution, which is ready. We launched it last September and we sold around 500," she explained, presenting an external filter that plugs into the outlet of the washing machine. Adaptable technology inside a washing machine, says the head of Planet Care.

For Henri Bourgeois Costa, circular economy expert at the Tara Océan Foundation, "there is a major environmental objective" that "we must never lose sight of" and "it forces us to succeed". "To be successful is to succeed in solving the problem and to no longer find these textile fibers in the environment," he insisted.

Some 2.7 million washing machines are sold in France each year, or more than 7,000 per day, according to figures from Gifam. Over 97% of French households are equipped with a washing machine. In addition to households, there are 5,900 professional establishments in France which use washing machines (laundries and laundries).

© 2020 AFP