Bristol based innovation company Matter: How your dryer lint can do its part to save the planet

Bristol based innovation company Matter, needs your tumble dryer lint to research how microfibers from laundry can be upcycled as part of a wider campaign to stop micro plastic pollution at source.

After a successful trial, cleantech innovator Matter is kicking off their Love Your Lint Campaign. They are asking the public to send their tumble dryer lint to Matter HQ, to uncover how microfibres can be recycled into packaging, insulation and more in order to create a circular economy from waste materials.

• The effects of microplastic pollution are all over the news, recent studies even found microplastic in breastmilk. 
• One of the main culprits of this type of pollution is our clothing. Today, 60% of all textiles are made from plastic fibres, which get washed into our waterways via our washing machines. 
• As this isn’t very visible people may not realise its harm but one look at your tumble dryer filter and it becomes immediately clear how much of these microfibres are coming off our clothes. 

While tumble dryers contribute to the output of carbon and add to your energy bill significantly, if you must use one then then you can at least reduce someone of their climate impact by posting the lint they produce to Matter, which supports a really innovative cause.

Matter did a trial run of the love your lint campaign last year in partnership with eco-cleaning brand Smol and received 623 parcels of lint weighing over 23kg in total. The total lint they collected was the equivalent of 179 T-shirts!

Together with CGG Environmental Science, Brunel University London, Swansea University and Smol, Matter has been able to put this lint to good use. They have used the lint to assess the potential for cellulose extraction, the suitability of compressed microfibre as a replacement for insulation panels and test various recycling applications for sustainable packaging.​

This year, Matter wants to scale up the campaign and are calling for the general public to save up their fluff and send it to Matter HQ where it will be used for new and innovative microfibre research projects.

Founder and CEO, Adam Root says: “Our ambition is to create a world with no waste, where today’s waste products are tomorrow’s raw materials. The lint you send us will be part of a microfibre research project we are doing to investigate how we can create a circular economy from waste materials.”

Simply put your lint in an envelope or small box (ideally recycled and not in a plastic bag) and send it to Matter HQ.

Matter, Unit 5

Avon Trading Estate

St Philips

Bristol

BS2 0XA

Matter does not only research solutions for the recycling of microfibres, behind the scenes they are also working on numerous industrial and commercial projects to stop microplastic pollution at source. One such initiative is Gulp, a sustainable, long lasting washing machine filter that catches up to 90% of all microfibres from every laundry cycle. This project can be backed via Kickstarter until November 10th.

Love Your Lint Image credit: Zzzone Commercial Studios Limited