#plastic pollution

"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"

From the article:

In a world where the scale of plastic pollution can feel overwhelming, 2025 brought a milestone worth celebrating: The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit dedicated to removing plastic from marine environments, pulled more than 25 million kilograms of waste from global waters last year alone. That’s over 55 million pounds or about 2,000 garbage trucks’ worth of plastic that is no longer drifting through our oceans. The achievement brings their cumulative haul to more than 45 million kilos (99 million pounds) since operations began.

In addition to removing huge amounts of plastic waste from the ocean, Ocean Cleanup is also now focusing on devices to collect plastic trash from rivers.

A recent analysis by Ocean Cleanup found that 80% of ocean plastic comes from just 1,000 (1%) of rivers. Stopping plastic at the source so it never even gets to the ocean is significantly easier and cheaper--especially when there are a relatively small number of rivers to focus on for the biggest impact.

ES: Formamos parte de un Plan de Supervivencia de Especies que incuba, cría y protege a estos preciosos polluelos. Lamentablemente, las poblaciones de frailecillos copetudos están disminuyendo rápidamente debido a factores ambientales adversos, como el plástico que a menudo piensan que es su alimento.

Tú también puedes ayudar reduciendo el uso de plástico en tu vida diaria. Juntos, podemos crear un mundo libre de plástico más saludable para las personas y para nuestro planeta océano. ¡Ven a conocer a los frailecillos copetudos y otras preciosas aves marinas en nuestro Open Sea Wing!

EN:

The parrots of the sea need our help! 🧡

We hatch and raise adorable pufflings here at the Aquarium as part of a Species Survival Plan to protect and conserve this irreplaceable species. Sadly, wild tufted puffin populations are rapidly declining due to stressors like plastic pollution, which they often mistake for fishy food in the ocean.   You can do your part to help these feathery friends by using less single-use plastic in your everyday life. Together, we can make a world without plastic that’s healthier for people and our ocean planet.

Plastic is the most prevalent marine pollutant, and plastic surfaces are the fastest growing habitat in the ocean. Researchers at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa have recently discovered that many species of fungi isolated from Hawai'i's nearshore environment have the ability to degrade plastic, and some can be conditioned to do it faster. The work is published in the journal Mycologia. "Plastic in the environment today is extremely long-lived, and is nearly impossible to degrade using existing technologies," said Ronja Steinbach, who led this research as a marine biology undergraduate student in the UH Mānoa College of Natural Sciences. "Our research highlights marine fungi as a promising and largely untapped group to investigate for new ways to recycle and remove plastic from nature. Very few people study fungi in the ocean, and we estimated that fewer than one percent of marine fungi are currently described."

🍲🚮♻️ “Garbage cafes” across India are tackling plastic waste and hunger! In these cafes springing up around the country thanks to a larger sanitation initiative, people can collect and donate plastic litter in exchange for a hot meal. For many, the cafes mean the difference between food and an empty stomach, and they have already had an impact on the amount of plastic waste going to landfill – in one city, landfill-bound plastic waste fell from 5.4 tons per year in 2019 to just two tons per year in 2024!

"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"

They've been threatened with legal action but they say they will keep trespassing and breaking rules to bring their local river back to life.

A team of local volunteers has been picking rubbish, clearing the river banks and restoring London's River Roding, saying they've got no other choice since no one else is doing it.