This is commonly described as a wicked problem, almost impossible to solve. In truth, almost all these fibres and other microplastics are removed from wastewater by modern sewage treatment works: one study reports a recovery rate of 99 per cent.74 So far, so good. But – and at this point you may decide whether to laugh or cry – having screened them out of the water supply, the treatment companies then release them back into the wild, in the sewage sludge they sell to farmers.
