Every day, people worldwide take actions to protect our planet. From recycling to supporting eco-friendly products, many consider the environmental impact of their choices. Governments enact laws to manage resources and curb pollution, funding programs that involve private companies dedicated to preserving natural resources and finding alternative energy sources. Sometimes, these efforts take unexpected forms, as seen in these ten extraordinary efforts to stop pollution.
10 Interceptor Trashfence
The Ocean Cleanup, a non-profit, installed the Interceptor Trashfence on the Las Vacas River near Guatemala City. This gigantic screen prevents tons of plastic waste from reaching the Caribbean Sea. Images show immense piles of refuse collected by the fence, which would otherwise choke the river.
Boyan Slat, the group’s director, estimates the river carries 20,000 tons of trash downstream annually. The Interceptor was installed as a pilot project to evaluate fence height, mesh size, and foundation security. While effective, Hondurans have complained that much of the plastic waste ends up on their side of the river.
9 Artificial Coastlines
Ocean currents have created a global pollution crisis, causing plastic to accumulate in five major garbage patches. This accumulation threatens sea animals and damages ecosystems, health, and economies.
Artificial, U-shaped coastlines are being explored to concentrate plastic for easier collection. One such system has already collected hundreds of tons of seaborne plastic, including trashcans, laundry baskets, and more. Computer modeling aims to predict hotspots for cleanup system placement.
However, initial attempts faced challenges. System 001 struggled to collect debris effectively, and concerns arose about trapping sea life. Later versions, like System 002 and 002B, showed promise, leading to plans for a full fleet of cleanup systems.
8 Gigantic Air Purifier
In Xi’an City, China, a 328-foot tower purifies the surrounding air. This massive air purifier captures large and small particles within its filters.
Each day, it cleans 353 million cubic feet of air, reducing small PM 2.5 particles by 10% to 19% within a 3.9-square-mile area. The tower achieves a purifying efficiency of 80% as part of China’s broader efforts to combat air pollution, which include reducing coal consumption.
7 Urban Reefs
Urban reefs are 3D-printed sculptures made of living materials like mycelium, river dredge, and clay, designed to increase biodiversity in cities. These reefs create microclimates that support a variety of plants, insects, and animals.
Urban Reef, the company behind these structures, explains that the resulting microclimates stimulate biodiversity, allowing humans and nature to coexist in a mutually beneficial way.
6 Khavda Renewable Energy Park
Sagar Adani is building the Khavda Renewable Energy Park in Gujarat, India. This sprawling solar and wind power plant will cover over 200 square miles, located near the Indian-Pakistani border.
The $20 billion project will help India increase its renewable energy use by 50% and reach zero emissions by 2070, meeting the nation’s growing energy needs.
5 Sporopollenin
Sporopollenin, found in pollen and spores, is a durable substance resistant to decomposition. Living Carbon is spurring microalgae to produce more sporopollenin, allowing a larger portion of biomass to be used for carbon removal.
Living Carbon’s team has produced photosynthesis-enhanced trees that store more carbon on less land. They are also developing a metal hyper-accumulation trait to increase the durability of stored carbon.
4 Bioengineered Trees
Companies are bioengineering trees to combat pollution. A California biotech company is creating fast-growing trees that quickly absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Lab trials showed genetically enhanced poplars grew more than 1.5 times faster than unmodified ones.
By inserting genes from pumpkin and green algae into poplar trees, another company lowered photorespiration rates and recycled carbon into sugars essential for growth. While promising, scientists caution that these trees were grown in a greenhouse, not in their natural environment.
3 Mammoth Air Vacuum
Climeworks, a Swiss company, uses Orca, a gigantic vacuum, to extract carbon dioxide from the air. The captured gas is stored under Iceland’s volcanic rock, where it solidifies in two years, mimicking a natural process that typically takes thousands of years.
The key challenges are the speed of deployment and political support. Orca can only process 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, a small fraction of the 10 billion tons that need to be removed annually.
2 Electrochemical Oxidation
Electrochemical oxidation targets PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” which are endocrine-disrupting and can cause health problems. A new method from the University of California-Riverside (UCR) treats water heavily contaminated with PFAS.
The process exposes the water to ultraviolet light, sulfite, and electrochemical oxidation, breaking the strong fluorine-to-carbon bonds in PFAS compounds. UCR associate professor Jinyong Liu notes that this method achieved near-complete destruction of PFAS in contaminated water samples.
Firefighters and military personnel, who are exposed to fire-suppression foams containing these chemicals, stand to benefit from this new method.
1 Orphaned Well Cleanup
The Superfund program ensures that polluters pay for cleanup costs. The 2021 renewal of the program means polluters are again responsible for cleanup costs. Remaining contaminated sites are cataloged and closed, with pipelines removed and abandoned chemical wells capped with cement.
These wells often result from boom-and-bust cycles in oil and gas, where small companies drill during boom years and then declare bankruptcy when the market declines, leaving contaminated sites behind.
These ten extraordinary efforts highlight the diverse approaches being taken to combat pollution worldwide. From innovative technologies like air-purifying towers and carbon-capturing vacuums to nature-based solutions like bioengineered trees and urban reefs, people are finding new ways to protect our planet.
What do you think? Which effort is most promising? Leave your comment below!
