Chelators can help plants remove heavy metals from contaminated soil. There are two ways to make this process more effective: increasing the amount of metal-absorbing plants, or boosting the metal concentration in those plants. By using chelators, researchers have found that they can improve the extraction of heavy metals from soil. Different types of chelators can mobilize and accumulate heavy metals in plants, but they can also have negative effects on the environment. After harvesting the plants, further assessments are needed to understand the overall impact. Overall, using chelators to help plants extract heavy metals from soil shows promise for cleaning up contaminated areas.