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Soil-biodegradable plastic films do not decompose in a lake sediment over 9 months of incubation
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Researchers incubated soil-biodegradable plastic mulch films in lake sediment for nine months and found virtually no decomposition, demonstrating that plastics certified as soil-biodegradable do not break down in aquatic environments and may persist as a long-term pollution source in freshwater systems.
Abstract. Agriculture relies heavily on the use of plastic mulch films, which increase crop yields and can lower water demands. In recent years, soil-biodegradable mulch films have been marketed to replace the non-biodegradable, conventional polyethylene-based mulch films. These biodegradable mulch films are designed to be ploughed into the soil after use to be biodegraded in situ by soil microorganisms. However, research has shown that part of the mulch film material may be transported from the fields to neighboring environments, including aquatic ecosystems. Research on potential biodegradation of soil-biodegradable plastics in freshwater habitats is lacking. Here, we investigated the mineralization of soil-biodegradable agricultural mulch films in freshwater lake sediments of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. Two types of commercial soil-biodegradable mulch films were incubated within lake sediment cores, along with traditional polyethylene (PE) plastic, and the production of CO2 and CH4 was followed over time relative to non-plastic-containing control sediments. After the 40-week incubation period, the films were visually intact and showed no signs of mineralization. Gas analyses showed no additional production of either CO2 or CH4 in the degradable mulch film incubations, compared to the control or PE plastic incubations. We conclude that these two used soil-biodegradable mulch films have a low biodegradability in lake sediments, likely reflecting that the microbial community structure in the lake sediment lacks active microbial degraders. Our results highlight the importance of preventing transport of soil-biodegradable mulch films from agricultural soils to surrounding aquatic environments.
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Nordic field studies tracked the in situ degradation of biodegradable plastic mulch films under cold, wet, low-UV conditions, finding that degradation was far slower than under the warm conditions where biodegradable plastics perform as designed, raising concerns about persistence in northern agricultural soils.
Long-term effects of conventional and biodegradable microplastics from mulch on freshwater communities
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Researchers examined the long-term effects of both conventional and biodegradable mulch film microplastics on freshwater zooplankton populations after leaching from agricultural soils. Even environmentally relevant concentrations of mulch-derived microplastics reduced zooplankton reproduction, with biodegradable mulch microplastics showing effects comparable to conventional plastics.
Microplastics from conventional and biodegradable mulch films alter microbial necromass accumulation and organic carbon sequestration in farmland soils
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Researchers compared how microplastics from conventional polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films affect soil organic carbon storage over 120 days. They found that both types of microplastics altered microbial activity and reduced the accumulation of microbial-derived carbon in soil. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics, once broken into microplastics, may interfere with soil carbon sequestration in farmland.
The fate of post-use biodegradable PBAT-based mulch films buried in agricultural soil
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Scientists tracked the breakdown of a biodegradable mulch film in farm soil over 16 months and found that while the film lost more than half its surface area, it released microplastics into the surrounding soil during the process. About 17-23% of the original film material was still recoverable from the soil after nearly 500 days. The study shows that even biodegradable plastics can be a source of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils.
Biodegradable mulch films exhibit slower-than-expected degradation with negligible effects on soil microbial communities
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Researchers ran a year-long field trial with seven biodegradable plastic mulch films in the UK, finding that none fragmented into soil microplastics as expected and all degraded far more slowly than current industry standards suggest they should. Despite virtually no measurable impact on soil microbial communities, the results challenge the assumption that biodegradable plastics reliably break down under real farming conditions.
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