Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent microplastics entering nature from washing machines.

The Government is concerned about the possible risks to public health and wildlife from microplastics which enter the environment from the atmosphere and road runoff and from washing machines.

Previous collaborative work with the water industry found that microplastic from clothing and textiles make up a small proportion (around 1%) of the total microplastics found within wastewater treatment works.

We are continuing to investigate microplastics and the risks they may have to public health and to the environment. Defra is working with water companies to investigate microplastics detected during wastewater treatment and their potential to enter the receiving aquatic environment.