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Mulch film to plastic debris: A survey of agricultural soils of Hebei Province, North China
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Farmers in China widely use plastic sheeting to help crops grow, but a study of over 300 soil samples found that leftover plastic fragments are building up in farmland soil, since most of it isn't properly recycled. The pollution was worse in fields that had been covered with plastic for 5-10 years, which matters because these plastic fragments can break down into microplastics that may end up in the food we eat and water we drink, making better plastic recycling practices important for protecting our food supply.
A significant amount of residual plastic film fragments (RPFF) accumulate in soil because of the widespread use and insufficient recycling of mulch films, substantially contaminating the ecosystem with plastic waste. However, information on RPFF abundance in agricultural soils that use long-term plastic film mulch is limited. In this study, 304 soil samples from 11 cities in Hebei Province, China, were used to examine the presence of RPFF in agricultural soils. We discovered that the main recycling techniques used in Hebei Province were manual picking (48.00%) and manual-mechanical recycling (31.90%), with the majority of recovered mulch (63.15%) disposed as waste. Residual plastic film fragment concentrations ranged from 0.48 to 155.33 kg/ha, with an average of 25.23 kg/ha. The north-central portion of Hebei Province has a more severe residual film pollution problem than the other regions. Notable variations in RPFF amounts were observed among plots planted with different crops and with years of mulching, peaking at 29.50 kg/ha after 5-10 years of mulching. Consequently, to reduce the amount of plastic waste that continues to accumulate in soils owing to agricultural needs, the management of plastic mulch, including its use, recycling, and disposal must be improved.
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