[rzimmerman]

I'd argue that even propellent-less deorbit devices are a waste of time. The best answer is what we're doing now: rules about deorbit capability and orbit lifetime, as well as debris production. Even when there are failures, as long as they are a small enough percentage of the pie, debris won't accumulate faster than it clears.

Additionally, all the propellant-less solutions are low-thrust (or ground-based, which is another thing entirely). It's absolutely possible to orbit match, dock, and deorbit an object, but whatever low-thrust device you're using is going to deorbit as well. Maybe it's possible to launch a bunch of small devices like this to do cleanup, but it's not necessary or worthwhile.

This is a great example of a solution that sounds fun and interesting to a problem that's easy to understand at a surface-level. It gets attention and funding, but the real unsexy stuff (tracking, monitoring, collision avoidance) is where the money should go.