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The Potential of Plastic Degradation as Soil Remediator for Plants: a Review

Izvestiya of the Samara Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences Social Humanitarian Medicobiological Sciences 2023
Alminda M. Fernandez, John Paul L. Matuginas, Jojine S. Cobrado, Jhon Paul R. Ambit, Saikat Basu, Peiman Zandi

Summary

This study characterized microplastic contamination in commercial sea salt from major global producing nations, detecting particles across all geographic origins. Polymer types and concentrations varied by production method and source water quality, with traditionally harvested solar salts generally showing lower contamination than mechanically processed sea salt products.

Body Systems

The considerable accumulation of plastic wastes around the globe posed hazards to the environment. Thus, the potential of biological systems to degrade synthetic plastics is now a recent focus. Some insects, bacteria and fungi have been shown to ingest these polymers and convert them into environmentally friendly carbon compounds (Amobonye et al. 2021). Most microorganisms are used as a foundation of bioplastic production and also used for the decomposition of plastics. Earth is a home to promising microorganisms that have potent use and solution to the never ending plastic wastes. Yet, there is still limited study on the use of plastic compost as fertilizer and soil conditioner. Bioplastics applied in plants such as corn, soya bean, safflower, groundnut, sesame and sunflower present contrasting effects. Hence, there is a need to explore the varied effects of composted plastics to various kinds of plants. This review therefore presents potent plastic degrading microbes for the production of composted plastics as soil conditioner and fertilizer to crops.

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