Earth Day: How the Moringa Tree Could Solve the Microplastics Crisis

Happy Earth Day, readers! To celebrate this incredible day, we have a special piece of Earth-themed good news for you all! To learn more about the issues plaguing our planet and how you can help, visit the Climate section of our website!

As microplastics continue to become a larger problem throughout the globe, scientists have found a tree that could solve the crisis.

Plastic has an incredibly short history when compared to the life of the Earth, or even the age of humans on the Earth. The world's first plastic was derived from cellulose, an organic compound that makes up the cell walls of wood and cotton, in 1862. The first fully synthetic plastic, known as bakelite, was manufactured in 1907 from an oil-based compound, and plastics development boomed in the 1930s and 1940s.

However, at the time, the population was not aware of the grave danger that plastics pose to the environment and our communities. When plastics are left outside, they do not biodegrade like organic materials. Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun's rays and other factors like wind and water help break down the plastic, but it never fully degrades.

Instead, the plastics become microplastics, which are pieces of plastic smaller than 5 millimeters. After almost a century of plastics use, microplastics are everywhere– a comprehensive study completed last year found that 99% of seafood items sampled contained microplastics. Scientists predict that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050, and, at our current pace, those predictions show no sign of changing in the near future.

Unfortunately, microplastics are so deeply ingrained into our society that they are almost impossible to remove, and oil companies continue to lobby against any sort of restrictions due to their connection with the plastics industry. Major sources of microplastics include synthetic clothing like polyester and nylon, which release microplastics when washed; car tires, which degrade as they are used; fragmentation of larger plastic debris, like packaging; and the cosmetics industry, which often uses plastic microbeads in scrubs and soaps, particularly exfoliating ones. Even common kitchen items like Ziploc bags can release billions of plastic particles into food when heated, and opening and closing the bags also releases large amounts of plastic into the food items inside. A 2018 study discovered that 93% of bottled water samples contained microplastics, and a further 2024 study found an average of 240,000 plastic particles in every bottle sampled.

To prevent further microplastics contamination of the environment, every person can make a difference. Avoid purchasing clothing with synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, acrylic, or spandex, drinking or eating from single-use plastics, buying cosmetic items with plastics, or purchasing other plastics items for households that will experience everyday use. Even soaps can release chemicals into the ocean that can harm marine life, so looking for eco-friendly options is a simple way to lower your environmental footprint.

However, scientists have found a tree that could filter out microplastics, offering a possible solution to the world's microplastics crisis. Using a salt extract from the seeds of the moringa tree, scientists were able to remove more than 98% of microplastics in water, trapping it inside the compound. This far surpasses any other previously-discovered alternative, and is much more environmentally-friendly.

Moringa, known as the world's "miracle tree," has been used for millennia for this purpose– historians believe that even the Ancient Egyptians used it to sterilize water. Nevertheless, it also provides countless other benefits. The moringa tree grows at a rapid pace, and it requires minimal water and care. Meanwhile, its leaves, seeds, and pods can boost heart health, reduce blood sugar, combat malnutrition, and provide high levels of protein, antioxidants, amino acids, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. These leaves are also used for various medicinal purposes, helping treat all sorts of conditions, from diarrhea to infections.

So, could moringa be the key to solving the world's microplastics crisis? We'll have to wait and watch.

Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The best investment with the least risk and the greatest dividend is giving. (John Templeton)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Orthography (noun, or-THAH-gruh-fee) - Orthography refers to the way in which the words of a language are spelled, or to the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage.

In a Sentence: As the winner of several spelling bees, she impressed her teachers with her exceptional grasp of orthography.

Image credit to NOAA