The answer is not a simple yes, but research suggests that plants could help clean up the planet in several different directions.
Search results for - microplastics
Alun Salt
Nanoplastics threaten plants’ ability to clean up industrial waste
Water Hyacinths can help clean up polluted water when grown in artificial wetlands, but nanoplastic pollution could dramatically reduce their efficiency.
Dale Maylea
Botany in a Barbie world is not fantastic
Plants are resilient, but even they are struggling with the increasing presence of microplastics.
Nigel Chaffey
Plastic pollution: Plants fight back!
Researchers have developed a novel filter, made from tannic-acid treated sawdust which may help reduce plastic pollution, while another approach has been presented to create a backyard-compostable bioplastic, using...
A carnivorous plant suffers poisoning from microplastics
Botanists identify microplastics entering traps as reducing the growth of a carnivorous plant.
Plastic plants?! Nanoplastics may be bad news for plants too.
More evidence that the damaging potential of small plastics needs to extend to terrestrial environments.
Liam Elliott
Microplastic infill for artificial turfs harms grassland species
We're used to microplastics being an environmental hazard in the oceans, but research confirms it can be a problem on land too.
Microplastics could pose a threat to plants
There’s been plenty of media attention on the threat plastics, especially microplastics, pose to animal life. A paper in New Phytologist suggests that there’s more to this. Plants might be suffering from...
