This bill would require that, starting January 1, 2030, no new washing machine sold or offered for sale in the United States may be sold unless it contains a microfiber filtration system. The bill defines a microfiber filtration system as a filter that is active across all wash cycles and is either built into the machine or supplied as an in-line filter packaged and installed with the machine. The filter must have a mesh size of not greater than 100 micrometers, or meet another standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency (Administrator), working with the Secretary of Energy, that provides equal or greater efficacy. New machines must also bear a conspicuous consumer label with a notice about the filter and instructing users to check and dispose of captured lint. The Administrator, jointly with the Secretary of Energy, may issue regulations to carry out these requirements. The bill sets civil penalties for violations (up to $10,000 for a first violation and up to $30,000 for each subsequent violation) and states those remedies are in addition to other legal remedies. The bill also directs the Administrator to carry out a nationwide study on microfibers, defining microfiber as any textile fiber less than 5 millimeters in length, and to report the study results to Congress and the public within one year of enactment.
The bill’s text frames the measure as requiring washing machines to capture microfibers before they leave the machine and directing a federal study on the presence of microfibers in the human body and the environment, their potential toxic effects, and whether impacts are inequitable for environmental justice communities. Supporters in the text seek rulemaking authority for the EPA and Energy Department to set standards and labeling, and they include penalties to enforce compliance.
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