You're Drinking Plastic—These Plants Can Stop It - AI Podcast
Story at-a-glance Microplastics contaminate drinking water, food and blood; the average person consumes a credit card's worth of plastic weekly, causing hormone disruption and organ damage Natural okra and fenugreek extracts removed up to 93% of microplastics from real-world water samples, outperforming synthetic chemicals like polyacrylamide by nearly 40% Plant extracts work through "bridging," or trapping plastic particles with long-chain sugars that clump contaminants together, making them heavy enough to filter out Just 1 gram per liter of plant extract cleaned water in 60 minutes, proving these natural solutions are practical and cost-effective for everyday use Beyond microplastics, these plants also remove heavy metals and industrial toxins while being completely biodegradable, unlike synthetic chemicals that leave harmful residues