Sulinger optician Brille Schmitz fights against microplastics in wastewater

New filter system on the grinding machine

Goggles Schmitz in Sulingen: fight against microplastics in waste water

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Sulingen – The company Brille Schmitz in Sulingen is focusing on more sustainability: A new type of filter system has been in use here for two months, which is supposed to keep microplastics out of the wastewater. The pollution of ecosystems, especially the seas, by particles with a diameter of up to five millimeters has been known for a long time. Many people are not aware that microplastics are also produced by opticians.

"Spectacle lenses are not a finished product, they fit every frame," explains Richard Schmidt, owner of Brille Schmitz. Once the glasses frame has been chosen, the glass must find its place in it. The lenses with the correct prescription and coating come from the manufacturer and are fitted to the frame by the optician. This adjustment, known as "grinding in", is carried out using CNC-controlled grinding machines, in which the glass is clamped and brought into the correct shape using a diamond wheel. Many modern glasses are made of plastic, and when they are ground in, chips are produced that are removed from the grinding wheel with water.

He did have a filter system for the water, but everything couldn't be held back with it, reports the master optician. Last year, the company "Wardakant" from Schleswig-Holstein approached him and presented his product "Tideklar".

This is a closed system: Water is still used for grinding - but this now comes from a 72-liter tank and is fed back into it in a circuit. The plastic chips are separated by a filter system and can be recycled into new plastic products.

“Previously, no one realized that so much microplastic is produced here,” admits Richard Schmidt. That's why he quickly decided to introduce the system - making him a pioneer in his industry: "I don't know of any colleagues in the Diepholz district who also have it." "Wardakant" is the only company that manufactures such a product: "They've been building it for a year and are very innovative."

System saves water and improves the working environment

He invested almost 11,000 euros in the introduction, plus the costs for the annual maintenance of the system for cleaning. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, because: "I save a lot of fresh water and waste water."

In addition, the working atmosphere has improved significantly: Previously, there was a strong odor development when grinding high-index plastic lenses in particular - "in some cases we had to open the door afterwards to air it out." The closed system now minimizes emissions.

What is microplastic?

Microplastics are pieces of plastic that are smaller than five millimeters. They are therefore sometimes difficult to see with the naked eye. There are two types: So-called primary microplastics include basic pellets, which are the basic material for plastic production; Granules in cosmetics and hygiene products, such as scrubs, toothpaste, hand wash; Microscopic particles that are used in cleaning jets, for example in shipyards, or in medicine as a vector for active ingredients in medicines. Secondary microplastics are formed through physical, biological and chemical degradation of macroplastic parts. Up to 2,000 synthetic fibers from fleece clothing, a velor material mostly made of polyester or polyacrylic, get into the marine environment via rivers per wash because they cannot be stopped by the sewage treatment plants. If a transport container with plastic industrial pellets is lost at sea for later processing, 50 billion pellets end up in the sea and can hardly be distinguished from grains of sand on the beaches. Source: Federal Environment Agency