MAINE — A laundry ball designed to catch microfibers from clothes could help reduce the plastics pollution entering the ecosystem. <br /><br />At four inches in diameter and made from recycled rubber, the Cora Ball imitates the way a coral reef filters tiny particles from flowing water. <br /><br />When washed with clothing, the laundry ball captures microfibers that come off during the wash. According the company, the ball captures between a quarter to a third of the microfibers per wash. <br />A typical household 13-pound laundry load can shed up to 700,000 microfibers, says marine science researcher Imogen Napper form the University of Plymouth in the U.K., as reported by the BBC.<br /><br />The little plastic fibers are too small for water treatment plants to remove, so many of them make it into the oceans.<br />According to the BBC, researchers say one cubic meter of ocean can contain 100,000 pieces of microplastic, which can then be consumed by marine life, to be eaten by humans.
