<p>Pollution in the atmosphere leads to severe health-related diseases in living beings. The source of air pollution includes engines, factories, and mining leading to pollutants like CO, CO₂, HC, and NOx along with dust and soot. Investigators have been working on reducing air pollution using different materials, however, the disposal of these filter materials upon usage in turn leads to pollution of the soil or water. In the present work, bio-degradable materials glass wool, coconut fiber, grass, and activated carbon have been tested and compared for their ability to reduce air pollution. The source of pollution shows that the CO and CO₂ emissions have been observed high for low compression ratios, whereas HC emissions have been found high for higher compression ratios and Nox emissions high at medium compression ratios. For a compression ratio (CR) of 2.5, glass wool is more efficient than other filter materials. For CR. of 3.5, glass wool and coconut fiber have been observed as more efficient than other filter materials. For a CR of 4.67, grass has been more efficient than other filter materials in reducing CO, CO₂, HC and NO_x pollutants. Grass has been observed as the most efficient in reducing the NOx content for compression ratios 2.5 and 3.5. Coconut fiber has been effective in reducing NOx for a 4.67 compression ratio.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>