Yes, it’s true.
I spent my college years getting SCUBA certified so I could dive into local ponds and rivers to help remove invasive plants, including water hyacinth.
The water hyacinth I knew about was collected in heaps, scraped off the top of the water, and used to feed manatees being rehabilitated at Lowry Park Zoo, now known as Zoo Tampa.
As a zoo intern, I realized just how much the water cows could eat and was impressed that they loved the invasive species. This made it a great way to keep the blubbery buddies fed while preserving local environments.
However, I was more shocked at how one simple pond continued to produce the invasive plant that was determined to choke out all other local aquatic flora.
Even with the manatees’ hefty diets, it was still an issue locally and globally, and it was even worse, including the water hyacinth being visible from space.
In the image below, the bright red light shows infrared imaging of where the water hyacinth grows as a fast-spreading, free-floating plant that can form impenetrable mats.
Source: Earth Resources Observation and Science Center The Sentinel-2 satellites from the European Space Agency (ESA)
Scientists with HyaPak have discovered that they can turn water hyacinth into biodegradable plastic, fueling sustainable packaging and supporting the local economy by paying fishers to harvest the plant.
Locals are constantly impacted by the invasive plant, which has removed more than 47 acres of hyacinth so far. HyaPak has become an alternative to single-use plastics.
The bright side of water hyacinth is that it can be used in so many ways that despite its effort to regrow, it easily provides opportunities for initiatives that are working with it to be creative and find endless ways to use something that has otherwise been invasive.
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