An external filter, retrofitted to your washing machine, is an immediate way of stopping microfibres going down the drain. Guardian lifestyle piece

You might not know it, but installing a washing machine filter might be one of the simplest defences against microplastics entering the ocean.

Scientists estimate there are 14m tonnes of microplastic on the ocean floor, and a further 24tn grains floating on the surface of the ocean. Microplastics come from many sources – they can shed from clothes, sneakers and bags made from synthetic materials; or they can be the product of larger pieces of plastic breaking down into smaller and smaller particles.

But 35% of microplastic pollution in the ocean is thought to come from the turbulence and friction of putting our clothes, sheets and towels through the washing machine, which release microfibres – a subcategory of microplastics.

A white paper delivered to the European Commission last month argues that washing machine filters are the only effective near-term solution to reducing the release of microfibres into the environment and should be mandated (the technology exists but inbuilt filters are extremely scarce). The white paper was co-authored by A Plastic Planet and 5 Gyres Institute with three washing machine filter manufacturers, Matter, PlanetCare and Xeros Technology.