CLEVELAND and BLUE HILL, Maine, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shaw Institute, a nonprofit science research organization, has tested CLEANR's external microplastic filter for washing machines and certified it to be over 90% efficient at capturing microplastics as small as 50-microns. CLEANR for Washing Machines will be available for purchase in the U.S. later this year.
Figure 1: Unused CLEANR Pod (Microplastic Capture Unit)
Figure 2: CLEANR Pod w/ Captured Microplastic Fiber
Washing machines are the largest source of microplastic pollution in the environment, accounting for 35% of total emissions.1 Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter. Microplastics have been linked to human health risks, including heart disease, digestive cancer, and reproductive disorders.2
"The Shaw Institute is a global authority on plastic pollution and marine health, and we're grateful for their review of our technology," said David Dillman, CLEANR's Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. "These test results confirm the significance of our filtration technology and its potential to help consumers fight microplastic pollution. This third-party assessment is a key milestone for our official product release in the US later this year."
CLEANR's technology, VORTX, is unique among microplastic filtering solutions for washing machines. CLEANR's design was inspired by manta rays and basking sharks whose unique gill structures allow them to glide through the water and feed passively without clogging their gills.3 Instead of forcing particles against a filtering surface like conventional filters, VORTX creates vortices which suspend and isolate microplastic particles from washing machine wastewater and channel them into the CLEANR Pod, a microplastic capture unit, which ensures proper disposal of the microplastics.
90%+ Microplastic Fiber Removal Validation Testing The Shaw Institute tested the effectiveness of CLEANR for Washing Machines by running a mix of tap water and plastic flock fibers (10 microns in diameter and 300 microns in length) through the filter at various concentration levels to simulate real world laundry conditions. The test was repeated three times in January and February and resulted in 90%, 97%, and 98% microplastic fiber removal rates.
"We couldn't be more proud to have worked with CLEANR as part of our new program to validate innovative technology designed to greatly reduce plastic pollution," said Dr. Charlie Rolsky, Executive Director of the Shaw Institute. "Microplastics are a major threat to human and environmental health. Therefore, finding solutions to reduce pathways of exposure to them is critical."
About Shaw Institute Shaw Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit scientific research organization based in Blue Hill, Maine. Established nearly 35 years ago, the Institute's mission is to work to discover and expose environmental threats to the health and wellbeing of people, wildlife, and the environments we share. Our research on plastics, ocean pollution, marine mammal health, toxic chemicals, and climate change has informed public opinion and influenced public policy, impacting millions of people in Maine, the US, and worldwide. https://shawinstitute.org/
About CLEANR CLEANR builds best-in-class microplastic filters for washing machines that effortlessly remove the largest source of microplastics into the environment. Its technology, VORTX, represents a breakthrough in filtration, with a patent-pending design that is inspired by nature and proven to outperform conventional filtration technologies by over 300%. The company is building a platform filter technology that enables product manufacturers and business customers to materially reduce their microplastic emissions from impacted in-bound and out-bound fluid streams, including residential and commercial washing machine wastewater, in-home water systems, wastewater treatment, textile manufacturing effluents, industrial wastewater, and other sources. www.cleanr.life
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