The significant impacts of laundry wastewater on microplastics: a case study in a residential area

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) in urban drainage are a significant source of river pollution. Laundry waste, which can contain high levels of microfibers, is a potential source of MPs in urban drainage. This study investigated the abundance and characteristics of MPs in urban drainage channels in Ketawanggede Village, Malang City, Indonesia. The research involved stages such as inorganic and organic separation using Fe2SO4.7H2O and H2O2, density-based MPs separation, and analysis of abundance, size, color, and polymer through microscopy and FTIR. Statistical testing was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis Test in RStudio. The results showed that the abundance of MPs increased with distance from the river, with the highest abundance found at location 4 (267.44 particles/L). The MPs were dominated by small particles (<1 mm), fibers (58%), and transparent (74.3%) in color. The type of polymer was mostly polypropylene (PP) and nylon. The study also found that the abundance of microfibers was significantly higher at locations 2 and 3 (where laundries were located) compared to location 1. This suggests that laundry waste is a significant source of microfibers in urban drainage.