Problem
Every year approximately 8 million tonnes of plastic enter our waterways, 80% of which gets transported via polluted rivers. Riverbourne debris consists of large and small plastic fragments. Smaller plastic fragments below 5 mm in diameter are called microplastics. They are rapidly becoming a global concern as they can easily be ingested by aquatic wildlife and humans, introducing potentially hazardous and carcinogenic chemicals into their diets or disrupting natural bodily functions. Additionally, due to their size, they are incredibly difficult to sequester from aquatic systems without significantly disrupting the ecosystem. With microplastic concentrations in rivers and drinking water on the rise, there is a critical need for new infrastructure to remove these harmful contaminants from our waterways.
Solution:
Our team has developed the worlds first affordable, portable, and environmentally friendly microplastic sequestration device, the Plastic Hunter. The Plastic Hunter is a modular water treatment wetland pad that utilizes organic and artificial root networks as biofilters to passively entrap microplastics and is designed to work in rivers. Plant root fibers exude a gelatinous film that easily entraps and absorbs small river sediments like microplastics. Through the creation of dense networks of underwater plant roots, we aim to use our device to passively entrap microplastic sediments without disrupting the aquatic ecosystem.
