So they grow and grow and grow and then, the currents bring them across the ocean, and then they end up piled up there,” he said. Sargassum has already cost the Quintana Roo state government $44.4 million, Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama said during the Thursday press conference. Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico Alicia Bárcena said the sargassum problem has evolved from a temporary phenomenon lasting a few months into one with a long-lasting continuous presence. Schmidt Sciences works with a company called CarbonWave that operates in Mexico, specifically in Quintana Roo, to upcycle sargassum into agricultural products and sustainable biomaterials. Due to the sheer quantity of sargassum, Bhattacharya said, it’s important to use the product on something that could use a lot of biomass as opposed to a single commercial item.