"A new technology using bubbles to clean up plastic pollution in waterways could be making its United States debut in Lansing.

Researchers at Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University are collaborating to find out if a “bubble barrier” would effectively collect trash in the Grand River.

A bubble barrier is a perforated rubber tube placed diagonally across the bottom of a waterway. A compressor pumps air through the tube, creating a curtain of bubbles with an upward current that pushes garbage to the surface. Once it’s at the surface, the flow of the water directs trash into a catchment system.

There’s currently three bubble barriers installed in the Netherlands and one in Portugal, and more projects are planned throughout Europe—and now Lansing. The first was installed in 2019 in Amsterdam."
 
Victoria Witke reports for WKAR Public Media January 5, 2026. [2]