Microplastic Pollution in the Soil Ecosystem and Emerging Recycling Techniques

Microplastic pollution is an emerging type of environmental pollution distinguished for its small particle size that ranges less than 5 mm. Their high degradation resistance and potential for bioaccumulation draws the utmost attention in the present scenario. It is known that plastics enter into crop production systems via various routes, such as greenhouses, tunnels, mulching film, protective nets, irrigation pipes, and many more. Such plastics, when they undergo degradation and fragmentation in soil, release harmful toxins. These can then easily penetrate into local flora, disturbing the ecology and imposing neurological disorders in human beings. Alarming changes in the soil ecosystem eventually invade toxic substances in the food chain, posing menace in the upper trophic levels. With increasing time, the plastic debris gets accumulated in the soil and alters the ecological system drastically. This is an important aspect for the species that are dependent on soil ecosystem for nutrition, which gets disrupted and develops an unfavorable environment for their survival. Nevertheless, the apparent use of plastic is found to be low and is replaced by organic alternatives. However, their prevalence has been marked in the agricultural soil, raising very pertinent scientific questions regarding its eradication. Unfortunately, the currently available technologies are not efficient enough to completely eliminate such a class of plastics from the environment. This points out an urgent need to develop different strategies and recycling methods for a plastic-free nature. This chapter briefly discusses the emerging recycling and removal techniques to remove microplastics from the soil ecosystem.