The MicroPlastics in Magic Erasures

Ever used a magic eraser to get marks off a door? I compared a magic eraser to plain old baking soda. Be careful doing this. If you have high gloss paint, it might make a dull patch. I used the same pressure but scrubbed the lower portion with the magic eraser for 18 seconds and the upper portion with the baking soda for only 12 seconds, and to me, the result was the same.

I tell you this because your magic eraser sponges might need some rethinking. While baking soda is harmless, magic erasers are made of melamine foam,  and they shed tiny plastic branched fibers as they’re used. We didn’t used to think melamine foam was a significant producer of microplastics, but a 2024 study showed they release as much as 6.5 million fibers per gram of worn sponge as they are rubbed aggressively to remove stubborn marks. And people use them until they’re ragged! Once you wipe off the residue, and wash that rag out in the sink, they’re released into surface water in some countries or plumbed off to urban treatment plants where indigestible plastics settle out into the sludge layer which is sold off as fertilizer for agriculture, which can then be taken up by plants, which we consume. 

EU regulators list melamine as an SVHC (Substance of Very High Concern). The melamine-formaldehyde resin polymer was shown to cause harm to sentinel aquatic species (that’s been demonstrated), which can change ecosystems that eventually land in our situation room. Now, we’re not finding it in most bodies of water in the concentrations they used in this study. So if you think the problem is inconsequential, I won’t disagree with you—right now. I imagine there was a time when the leather industry thought we could never possibly run out of wild buffalo on the fruited plains of the USA. I would submit that the inconsequential phase is precisely when we need to address things like this. Especially when you add this to all the other sources of microplastics out there. And ESPECIALLY when there are perfectly effective, safer alternatives.

So do the easy swap: your magic eraser for a little baking soda on a wet cotton cloth. You’ll be surprised at the things it can erase. Magic erasers don’t have a corner on “magic.” We got along fine without them for thousands of years. Oh yeah, and instead of plastic sponges, use biodegradable cellulose sponges with a scrubbing side made from coconut fiber or loofah for dishes. Look for plastic-free, dye-free, and fully compostable, even in the packaging and shipping materials.  Good on ya!