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Melamine sponges shed microplastics when scrubbed
- kragen 2y agoyes obviously that's the whole fucking point so do pencil erasers, polymer composites being sanded, varnished wood being sanded, paint being sanded or abrasive-blasted, and, as the abstract points out, synthetic fibers (though in that case it's not the whole point)
- schiffern 2y agoThank you for the sanity. In case it's not obvious to everyone, melamine sponges are also known as "magic eraser," so the entire point is that the melamine (a plastic commonly seen in old brittle dishware) wears away into abrasive dust as you use the eraser.
- kragen 2y agothe 'magic eraser' name is also mentioned in the abstract (the paper itself is paywalled)
- eth0up 2y agoI fantasized about a product made of, essentially, toilet paper, for removing soft adhesives. As it is rubbed, it sheds, then the rolling effect eventually absorbs the adhesive. Works well for sticker residue.
- kragen 2y agoi've been using table salt for this lately. of course this also creates microplastics
- ororroro 2y agoIgnore the title. The paper looks reasonable. It characterizes the process of break-down which will enable the design of better products in the future.
- kragen 2y agowhat is your idea of 'better products' in this context
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tmaly 2y agoWhat is the alternative to these sponges for things used to handwash dishes?
- kragen 2y agoyou can use real sponges (the sea animal), cellulose sponges, washcloths, or dishwashers