The latest innovation to tackle plastic pollution? A bubble barrier.

A wall of bubbles can intercept plastics in rivers and canals without blocking the passage of boats and marine wildlife. Tests of a prototype in the IJssel river in the Netherlands found it stopped 86% of waste on average.

Now, the Dutch start-up behind the Bubble Barrier has teamed up with the municipality of Amsterdam and the regional water authority to run a three-year pilot of its technology.

Photo credit: Alexander Schimmeck