Our world’s pollution is a travesty because of the enormous amount of plastic waste that humans generate. Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in oceans, and other waterways, landfills, and even roadsides become polluted with plastic as well.

Experts say that plastic has been found in over 60% of all seabirds and in 100% of sea turtles, as the creatures often mistake plastic for food. Disturbed by these statistics, one Australian town is stepping up to do something about it.

Town officials in Kwinana, Western Australia have installed a new filtration system made of large nets that they place over the drain pipes in their spillways. These nets are designed to catch any debris that comes through them, so they can stop plastic before it pollutes the environment.

The nets allow the water to continue flowing freely while also protecting the local environment from contamination and pollution. When the nets become full of trash and debris, they are removed and the garbage is gathered up into trucks and transported to a sorting center.

Once they are at the center, anything that can be recycled is removed and sent away to be processed for reuse. Since putting the nets in place, locals have seen a noticeable difference in the amount of trash flowing into their natural areas. In just a few weeks, the nets have taken out 800 pounds of debris from two outlets! Just look how much waste the nets are able to capture.

We can only hope that more cities and town will take notice and start using similar filtration systems. It may just change the world!