Plastic pollution is one of the main problems of the times in which we live. There are many organisations that work to promote a plastic free lifestyle and the clean-up our oceans, but there is still a long way to go.
Despite the fact that there is (unfortunately) a lot of negative news on the subject, a wave of positivity has emerged directly from our natural world: recent scientific research has shown that poplars are excellent plastic-eaters! 
Research on plastic-eating poplars
This good news is the result of an all-Italian research initiative, conducted in Pisa at the Institute of Life Sciences of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in collaboration with Pisa’s CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology. The incredible results have been published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research: the data obtained show that the species of poplar known as Populus alba are able to feed on phthalates, polluting chemical compounds commonly used in the production of plastics and harmful to man and the environment. These are very volatile substances, which in a short space of time can travel over long distances, reaching even the most unspoiled areas of our planet. It seems, however, that poplars have the ability to deal with these substances and their roots are able to absorb and break them down.
