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Application of Plastics in Promotion of Organic Farming
Summary
This review examines the application of plastics in organic farming, contrasting conventional polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene — which persist in soil and break down into micro- and nanoplastics — with biodegradable alternatives designed to be metabolised by soil microbes. The authors highlight that biodegradability depends on both polymer physicochemical properties and environmental conditions, underscoring the trade-offs involved in agricultural plastic choices.
Plastic is a broad term for a material based on one or more organic polymers with added substances (additives) to achieve desired properties, such as flame retardants, antistatics, coloring agents, stabilizers, reinforcing materials, UV-adsorbents, and plasticizers. Conventional polymers like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are environmentally persistent due to their chemically stable polymer backbones. Agricultural plastics made from these polymers can break down into micro- and nanoplastics (MNP), accumulating in soils, being taken up by organisms, or moving into surrounding environments. Biodegradable polymers, on the other hand, are designed to be metabolized by microbes, converting the polymer carbon into CO2 and microbial biomass in oxygen-rich conditions. The biodegradability of a polymer depends on its physicochemical properties and the environmental conditions where it degrades.