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Identification and quantification of microplastics in compost from municipal landfills in Uganda
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Researchers found tiny plastic bits called microplastics in compost made from trash at 11 landfill sites in Uganda, with over half of the pieces being tiny plastic fibers likely from things like clothing and packaging. This matters because compost is often used to grow food, meaning these plastics could work their way into crops, animals, and eventually our own diets, highlighting the need for better trash sorting and waste management before plastic contamination gets worse.
The expansion of municipal solid waste in Uganda has been increasingly characterized by a surge in plastic waste. Consequently, this has led to severe plastic contamination at composting sites, where the progressive degradation of these materials introduces microplastics (MPs) directly into the compost. This study evaluated the abundance of microplastics in compost produced from 11 composting sites from Municipal Landfills in Uganda. The samples were collected in the dry season of June 2025 over two weeks. The MPs were extracted using an adapted wet peroxide oxidation protocol followed by density separation using saturated zinc chloride. The extracted MPs were analysed under a stereomicroscope with a ZEISS Axiocam 208 color camera connected to Labscope imaging software. The numerical data were analysed using Microsoft Excel (V. 2404) and SPSS (V. 20.0). A one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s HSD while controlling the family-wise error rate at α = 0.05, was conducted to compare abundance across sites. The results indicated that the average abundance of MPs was 2100 ± 409.4 particles/kg for 11 sites. The fibre accounted for 54.98% of the identified MPs across all sites. The results showed the presence of microplastics at all sites, with the Hoima compost site exhibiting the highest abundance. MPs were identified in both primary and secondary forms. The occurrence of secondary MPs likely reflects poor waste management and inadequate waste segregation practices. MPs in compost may enter the food chain, raising concerns for ecosystem health. These findings show the significant MP contamination in compost and highlight the need for improved solid waste management strategies to reduce plastic pollution.
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Identification and Quantification of Microplastics in Compost: A case of landfills in Uganda
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Researchers surveyed compost sites across 8 cities and 5 municipalities in Uganda, finding microplastics at all locations with fibers being the most abundant type (54.98%), indicating that poor waste management practices are driving plastic contamination into compost used in agriculture.
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Scientists found tiny plastic particles in compost made from city waste at all nine facilities they tested across a mountain region in India. The compost contained thousands of these microplastics per kilogram, which could end up in soil and crops when farmers use this compost as fertilizer. This matters because microplastics in our food system could eventually affect human health, and better waste sorting and plastic reduction are needed to fix this problem.
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Researchers quantified macro- and microplastic contamination in composts from two industrial municipal solid waste composting plants in Uganda, finding substantial plastic contamination resulting from minimal source separation in waste collection, which could transfer plastics to agricultural soils.
Microplastics in landfill soils of Lichinga, Mozambique: occurrence, polymer diversity, and depth-related distribution
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Researchers found tiny plastic particles (microplastics) buried in landfill soil in Lichinga, Mozambique, at various depths and in many different plastic types. This matters because these plastics can break down further, potentially seeping into groundwater or soil where crops grow, creating a possible pathway for plastic particles to end up in our food and water supply. While this study focused on soil rather than direct health effects, it highlights how landfills may be an overlooked source of environmental plastic pollution that eventually affects human exposure.
Development of an extraction and determination method for microplastics in compost and soil matrices
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Scientists found tiny plastic particles (called microplastics) in compost and farm soil samples, with higher amounts in surface soil and areas with more organic matter. This matters because these microplastics can get into our food through crops grown in contaminated soil, potentially affecting human health. The study also showed that microplastics are everywhere in our environment - even floating in laboratory air - highlighting how widespread this pollution problem has become.
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