Addressing plastics pollution has become one of the top priorities on the global environmental agenda. Especially, solutions for micro/nanoplastics need further refinement based on existing efforts to achieve environmental sustainability.

Prof. YANG Yuyi's team from Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and collaborators from the University of Southern Denmark, and National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF, Egypt), recently put forth a novel perspective employing phytoremediation technology to combat plastic pollution.

This perspective discusses the latest advancements in global plastic remediation strategies, advocating for the application of phytoremediation to control the source-to-sink transport of micro/nanoplastics and mitigate plastic pollution across terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments.

Considering the cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability of green technology, phytoremediation is expected to become an important supplementary strategy for alleviating global plastic pollution.

The research was published in Eco-Environment & Health entitled “The Power of Green: Harnessing Phytoremediation to Combat Micro/nanoplastics”. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Special Research Assistant Project, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Graphical abstract of the research (Image by YUAN Wenke)