Watch APPLiA's eleventh digital interview, here.
The eleventh episode of APPLiA’s digital interviews is now available. APPLiA’s Director General, Paolo Falcioni, met Giulia Zilla, APPLiA’s Policy Manager for Energy and Environment to discuss microplastics and report on the EU approach undertaken to tackle the issue.
In the context of the series of short digital interviews launched by APPLiA, the eleventh episode features Ms Giulia Zilla, APPLiA’s Policy Manager for Energy and Environment, and Mr Paolo Falcioni, APPLiA’s Director General, on microplastics.
Understanding what is meant by microplastics is key to tackling the rising issue of microplastics pollution in Europe and at the global level. Whilst lengthy discussions are taking place on trying to define microplastics, it is commonly agreed that “microplastics are very small particles of plastic material, even smaller than 5mm, that can originate from a number of different sources,” began Ms Zilla. They can be intentionally made and added to products to enhance certain properties, as is the case for medicines or beauty care products, so-called primary microplastics. Secondary microplastics instead, derive from the fragmentation and weathering of larger plastic items, which can accumulate in the form of fibres, beads, flakes, pellets or powder. Yet, “the amount of emissions of microplastics in marine and non-marine environments is still a matter of discussion,” highlighted Zilla.
Microplastic pollution is a global challenge across many industries and sectors. In recent years, microplastics in the environment have received increasing attention and particularly, “washing machines have been on the radar of the media as the main target for microplastics pollution from textile sources,” detailed Ms Zilla. However, as an emerging area of research, proper scientific foundations to such worrying extrapolations are lacking. For this reason, “the home appliance industry has been working to assess the magnitude of the issue and are committed to unearthing possible solutions to tackle microplastic pollution in Europe.” As a key actor in the discussion, ”APPLiA commissioned the Research Institute of Sweden (RISE) to carry out a Literature Review on the microplastic emission from textile laundry, collecting and comparing existing data. In addition, “the Association is also coordinator of the newly established Consortium on Microplastics Release during Household Washing Processes, bringing together eighteen signatories, towards a standardised testing methodology assessing microplastics release during household washing cycle,” explained Ms Zilla on these preliminary but rather concrete efforts undertaken by APPLiA to contribute to the global microplastic discussion and ultimately help solve this impending issue.
As international efforts are scaling up to tackle the problem, “legislation proposals are being discussed to reduce microplastics release in Australia, the USA and Canada, whilst France has just adopted a law introducing microplastics filters as from January 2025,” Ms Zilla outlined. Similarly, “this also emerged as a report recommendation in the UK and is subject of an ongoing discussion on the introduction of a requirement for washing machines to be equipped with microplastics filters, currently ongoing in Luxembourg,” she continued. With this respect, the implementation of different regulations across Europe risks hampering the free movement of goods and overall jeopardising the EU Single Market. What is more, this could lead to a ‘knock-on’ effect for both the industry and consumers, with little clarity on the true environmental benefits. ”This is why we welcome the EU initiative on microplastic pollution launched by the European Commission, which does not concern only washing machines, but it is looking at the whole life cycle of the textile, including production, use phase and end of life,” Ms Zilla continued.
Moving forward, the sector reiterates its position on bringing all EU Member States to discuss the issue of microplastics and possible mitigation measures at the European level and supports the adoption of upstream policy measures, calling for a lifecycle-based approach that would help identify the most cost-effective solution to a global problem.
This and much more in APPLiA’s eleventh digital interview, available at this link.