German company Wasser 3.0, however, thinks it may have found the answer to cleaning up microplastic pollution before it reaches the ocean — using a whirlpool and a specially developed hybrid silica gel.A compound, called Wasser 3.0 PE-X, is added, which acts as a clumping agent, drawing together any microplastics into popcorn-shaped lumps that rise to the surface and can be skimmed off using a sieve.“The removal technology is very straightforward,” says Dr. Katrin Schuhen, inventor and founder of Wasser 3.0, adding that the process can be used in any kind of water, from freshwater and seawater to industrial and wastewater.The organosilanes become attached to the surface of the microplastic particles and, when mixed, they quickly lump together, becoming table tennis ball-sized clusters in under five minutes.With current technology, microplastics from toothpaste, skincare products or clothes tend not to be filtered out at sewage works, according to the UN Environment Programme, and are released directly into the ocean, lakes or rivers."