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Microplastic contamination in locally and industrially produced organic fertilizers: Implications for sustainable agriculture and risk mitigation
Summary
Researchers testing organic fertilizers in Bangladesh found both homemade and commercial versions were loaded with tiny plastic fragments—mostly from things like agricultural plastic film and packaging waste that get mixed into the compost. Since these fertilizers are spread directly on farmland, this means plastic particles are likely building up in soil and could work their way into the food we eat, raising concerns about long-term impacts on soil health and food safety. The researchers say better filtering and stricter rules about what goes into fertilizer production could help reduce this contamination.
Microplastics (MPs) in organic fertilizers pose a growing concern for soil health, crop productivity, and food safety. This study assessed MPs contamination in two fertilizer categories: locally produced fertilizers (LF) and commercially produced fertilizers (CF). Twenty samples (10 LF and 10 CF) were collected from Jashore, Bangladesh, and analyzed using oxidative digestion, density separation, microscopy, and Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) based polymer identification. Results revealed higher MPs concentrations in LF (11260 ± 3622.26 MP/kg) compared to CF (8220 ± 3276.22 MP/kg). Fibers dominated both sources (85-90%), with the 0.1-0.5 mm fraction most abundant (38% in LF; 48% in CF). Color analysis showed transparent and black MPs as the most frequent, while polymer identification highlighted polyethylene (50-54%) and polypropylene (19-22%) as dominant. Multivariate analyses (alluvial diagrams, clustering, principal component analysis) linked MPs traits to feedstock sources such as agricultural films, packaging waste, and construction residues. Pollution indices indicated moderate to considerable contamination: contamination factor ranged from 1.00 to 3.48 in LF and 1.00-2.76 in CF, while the pollution load index exceeded unity for both. The polymeric hazard index suggested moderate-to-high risk (<1000), and the potential ecological risk index clustered within considerable-to-high risk zones. An artificial neural network model achieved high predictive accuracy (R > 0.99). These findings underscore organic fertilizers as significant vectors of MPs into agroecosystems and highlight the need for targeted feedstock exclusion, improved sieving, polymer-selective removal, and regulatory monitoring to safeguard soil health and food security.