Plastic Pollution Solution

Growing up kayaking around the coast of Ireland, 20-yearold Fionn Ferreira was shocked by how much plastic waste littered the shores.

The most dangerous form of plastic waste, Ferreira found out, is one you can’t see. Microplastics are tiny fragments that end up inside not only marine life, but humans. We ingest about five grams every week through food and water, and even more microscopic particles from carpets and synthetic textiles.

Noticing that oil-spill residue on the beach attracted plastic particles, he designed a device that used ferrofluid, a magnetic liquid, to remove microplastics from drinking water. In 2019, his prototype – which removed 87 per cent of microplastics from a water sample – won him the grand prize at the Google Science Fair.

Now a chemistry student, he is fine-tuning his invention to use in homes and water treatment plants.