Biological PFAS Cleanup Solutions

Forever chemicals are impacting human health and ecosystems everywhere. This page includes organisms that can help absorb or even break them down.

Constructed Wetlands

These are often ideal for agricultural sites, industrial waste, and even human sewage treatment.

Location Specific

River Cleanups

Waterways pose unique challenges such as rising and falling water levels, dangerous footing, and hidden dangers including flows that may be strong enough to pull people away. Waterway cleanups might rely on litter traps, people working along the shorelines, and/or using vessels such as canoes or paddleboards.

Ghost Gear

This mostly includes plastics such as fish nets and lobster pots or fishing lines, but can also include other materials including dangerously sharp hooks and lead which is hazardous even to touch.

Oil Spills

A single spill can cause decades of damage to ecosystems, human health, and economically.

Plastic Pollution

PFAS

Organizations

International

• Plastic Smart Cities "is a WWF initiative that supports a no plastic in nature agenda. Since 2018, the initiative has supported cities and coastal centers in taking bold action to stop plastic pollution, with a goal to reduce plastic leakage into nature by 30% in the near term, and achieving no plastics in nature by 2030."

North America

USA

• Anthropocene Alliance (A2) "has almost 300 member-communities in 41 U.S. states and territories. They are impacted by flooding, toxic waste, wildfires, and drought and heat — all compounded by reckless development and climate change. The consequence is broken lives and a ravaged environment.

The goal of A2 is to help communities fight back. We do that by providing them organizing support, scientific and technical guidance, and better access to foundation and government funding. Most of all, our work consists of listening to our frontline leaders. Their experience, research, and solidarity guide everything we do, and offer a path toward environmental and social justice.

Supported by outstanding partner organizations with expertise in engineering, hydrology, public health, planning, and the law, A2 leaders have successfully halted developments in climate-vulnerable areas; implemented nature-based hazard mitigation strategies; organized home buyouts; and pushed for clean-ups at superfund sites, toxic landfills, and petrochemical plants.

We support everyone we can, but our special priority is people who have suffered the worst environmental impacts for the longest time; that usually means low-income, Black, Latinx, Native American and other underserved communities.

To learn about our policies, read our A 10-Point Platform on Climate Change."