Italy developed a plant that cleans polluted rivers by eating microplastics

In a greenhouse outside Florence, Italian botanists have engineered a plant that behaves like a natural vacuum cleaner for polluted water. It’s not just a filter — it absorbs microplastics and heavy metals through its roots, locking them inside plant tissue and purifying rivers as it grows.

The plant, called Pistia Magnifica, is a genetically enhanced version of water lettuce. Its roots are rich in lignin-modified enzymes that bind to synthetic particles like polyethylene and polystyrene — the two most common microplastics. As river water flows past, it traps these particles and draws them into its vascular system.

Lab tests show one square meter of Pistia Magnifica can remove up to 92% of microplastics from 100 liters of river water in under an hour. The absorbed waste stays inside the plant’s structure, where it can later be harvested and safely incinerated — turning pollution into usable thermal energy.

Unlike conventional cleanup systems, this green solution requires no machines, no power, and no infrastructure. It floats on the surface, grows rapidly, and multiplies naturally. Italian municipalities are now deploying it in canals, lakes, and irrigation ditches — especially near industrial zones where plastic runoff is highest.

Environmental groups are calling it a “living cleanup crew,” one that could help restore biodiversity to plastic-choked waterways worldwide. The UN is already reviewing the tech as a solution for developing nations where river pollution has become catastrophic.

Italy may have found a way to turn the world’s dirtiest water into drinkable streams — using nothing but sunlight and leaves.