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(Micro)plastic Pollution in Chinese Erosion Control Engineering: Sources and Prevention Strategies
Summary
Researchers estimated that plastic erosion control materials — nets and soil reinforcement agents — covered roughly 23,500 km² of Chinese soils over the past decade, identifying these engineering applications as a significant and previously overlooked source of microplastic contamination due to their high degradation rates and mobility across landscapes.
ABSTRACT (Micro)plastics are ubiquitous and have emerged as a global pollutant of growing concern, posing significant threats to ecosystem sustainability. In China, diverse plastic products are extensively employed in soil erosion control engineering (ECE). However, the potential contribution and environmental hazards of (micro)plastics from ECE has yet to be considered. In this review, a preliminary assessment based on national soil erosion control data estimates that approximately 2.35 × 10 4 km 2 of soils were covered by plastic nets or mixed with plastic reinforcement agents in engineering construction projects over the past decade across China. Although plastic products exhibit demonstrated effectiveness in mitigating soil erosion and positively impact vegetation recovery, they also pose a high environmental risk for microplastic pollution for several reasons. First, plastics in ECE projects are significant sources of (micro)plastics that can permeate diverse landscapes. Second, (micro)plastics in ECEs can directly enter soils and alter their environments. Third, these plastics exhibit higher degradation rates, and fourth, are highly susceptible to transportation. Therefore, (micro)plastics from ECE are considered as non‐negligible sources of microplastic pollution in soils. With this context, prevention strategies for limiting (micro)plastic pollution from ECE projects are provided, including source control based on the hierarchy of the “four R's” (i.e., reducing, reusing, replacing, and recycling plastics), enhancing education and regulation by strengthening awareness and improving product quality. Additionally, the incorporation of innovative policies such as banning single‐use plastics in temporary applications and incorporating plastic waste consideration into existing environmental impact assessment policies are useful strategies for limiting plastic contamination.