MILACA, MINN.—Plastic microfibers from our clothing are in our waterways, food, drinking water, and even beer according to many recent studies. Much of this pollution problem starts in our homes when we do laundry as thousands of tiny fibers are shed in each load of laundry. Wastewater treatment plants do not remove all these fibers, so they are finding their way into our rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Wexco Environmental, a company based in central Minnesota, has a solution called the Filtrol 160. The Filtrol is the first washing machine filter capable of capturing microscopic fibers. Although some washing machines have built-in lint filters, none of them filter out the smallest particles. The Filtrol 160, on the other hand, is the only in-line washing machine filter that can catch microscopic particles and keep them out of the environment.
“Synthetic fibers do not break down in the environment just like other plastics,” says Wexco founder and President Brian Koski. “They tend to attract other pollutants like a sponge, making them very toxic when fish or wildlife mistake them for food. In an effort to keep these microscopic pollutants from exiting our homes, we are continuing to improve the Filtrol to give consumers an option to start making a difference right now in their own home.”
The Filtrol was originally developed over 20 years ago and there are thousands of Filtrols operating today across the country. Wexco has since purchased this technology and has been bootstrapping research and development for new improvements in the basement of their small rural office for the last three years.
For more information about the Filtrol 160, including more information on microfiber pollution, visit https://filtrol.net/.
