Samsung New Zealand has partnered with local environmental charity Sea Cleaners to launch a new Less Microfibre Filter to preserve New Zealand coastlines. Samsung will also donate $50 from every sale of the Less Microfibre Filter to Sea Cleaners.
Since 2002, Sea Cleaners has removed over 17.8 million litres of waste from New Zealand’s waterways and educated people about responsible waste reduction.
“Our mission centres around protecting our seas, oceans and harbours by removing and reducing litter in our waterways, but microplastics are almost impossible for us to get rid of once they are in the ocean,” said Sea Cleaners founder Hayden Smith.
“It’s an ongoing journey, and there is still a lot of work to be done, but it’s great to partner with companies like Samsung helping to do their bit.”
This partnership builds on the success of the Less Microfibre Cycle that Samsung washing machines introduced last year, which reduces microplastic shedding by 54 percent.
Combined with the continued use of post-consumer recycled plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets in Samsung Galaxy S Series phones, the launch of the Less Microfibre Filter underlines Samsung’s sustainability journey.
Designed for use with all standard washing machine models, the Less MicroFibre Filter prevents up to 98 percent of microplastics released during a laundry cycle from escaping into wastewater when used four times a week.
Given that microplastics have been estimated to make up 35 percent of plastic pollution in our oceans, this is a solution worth adopting.
“With the continued increase of microplastics in our oceans and growing health concerns caused by their presence, it made perfect sense for us to look at how we could help reduce their emission with our household appliances,” said Shannon Watts, Group Marketing Director at Samsung New Zealand.
“The partnership with Sea Cleaners helps us amplify a unique innovation engineered to help reduce the release of microplastics from our daily lives into New Zealand’s waterways and oceans.”
Adding it to existing washing machines at the drain pipe, with tiny pores to capture microfibres, the filter must only be emptied once a month, and the householder must be notified via the Samsung SmartThings app.
