Microplastics are choking our waters. Could a sponge made of squid bones help remove them?

CNN — Microplastics are everywhere. “Even under a variety of policies, including plastic product reduction, waste management, and environmental recycling, microplastic pollution is irreversible and escalating.” The microplastics problem Microplastics are tiny shards of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. The low cost and wide availability of both cotton and squid bones mean the sponge created in Wuhan “has great potential to be used in the extraction of microplastic from complex water bodies,” according to the study. Shima Ziajahromi, a lecturer at Australia’s Griffith University who studies microplastics, called the squid-cotton-sponge method “promising” and said it could be an effective way to “clean up the high risk and vulnerable aquatic ecosystem.” However, the study’s authors did not address whether the sponge can remove microplastics that sink to the sediment, which is the majority of microplastics in our waters, said Ziajahromi, who was not involved in the study. “Without careful management, this process risks transferring microplastics from one ecosystem to another.” Ultimately, Ziajahromi added, minimizing plastic pollution is in the first place should remain a “top priority.”