What we’ll learn
How many microplastics are in the home?
Through participation in this study, you’ll get the tools and opportunity to measure the amount of microplastics in your home. All homes will have different amounts, but so few measurements exist in this area, we really don’t know how many we will find. This study is the first step in understanding what typical concentrations are.
Where do microplastics come from?
We think most airborne microplastics come from textiles, but we don’t know if it’s mostly from clothes or furnishings. When you post the samples back to us, we will examine them using a RAMAN microscope which can tell us what types of plastic are in the sample. This will help us understand where they have come from.
Help us build an experiment that makes a difference
This is the first experiment to use a new simple, low-cost technique to collect and analyse microplastics. In the future, we will expand the study to take many more measurements to build a picture of typical concentrations in a much bigger range of homes. But first, we would like your help to evaluate the tools used (the kit, the instructions and a few different microscopes). Your feedback will help develop the project so more people can take part in the future