Researchers at the University of Kentucky are looking at a possible solution to a growing concern plastic pollution.

They're studying natural, deep Utica solvents.

These solvents are essentially a magnet made of natural materials that can attract the tiny pieces of plastic that are threatening animal and human health.

What we want to do here in my lab is we want to develop a new class of wind, which are green and natural.

All industries will use solvent, but most most of the solvent derived from petroleum or fossil fuels.

So we use mint or same on coconut.

They are natural and they are not petroleum based.

So we think they are environmentally friendly and so solvent, relatively cheaper because the materials itself is widely available.

You can get from it from the tree or from the plants.

Microplastics.

One application I feel is very exciting and very, very interesting.

Each year there will be around 1.5 million tons of plastics will be discharged into the ocean, and those plastics can break down during their stay in the ocean, either caused by the mechanical shearing or cost by the sunlight.

Break down those polymers into smaller particles.

Eventually they end up either floating on the surface of the water or settled into the floor of the ocean, which can be taken by the fish and by the algae, by the other organisms in the ocean.

And eventually they end up in our human human life.

Consumption as food of being exposed to the water that contains microplastics.

So it has been a big concern.

Now you can imagine that you can simply mix the the less than useful and that we developed here with the water contaminated with microplastics.

And you can either shake it.

So the plastic will been pulled out from the water into the soil and face.

Then you can remove it.

And if you can further use the microplastic, there's a way.

Then we will recover the Microplastic and make some useful product from it.

So that would be another, you know, second use of the plastic.

Rather than discard them in the landfill, we can reuse them for something new in our daily life.

Neat.

UK researchers say it'll take more time before the technology makes it out of the lab into the real world.

One possible use creating test kits that detect the presence of microplastics and water sources.