Article
?
AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button.
Tier 2
?
Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Environmental Sources
Sign in to save
Microplastic pollution and the related ecological risks of organic composts from different raw materials
Journal of Hazardous Materials2023
66 citations
?
Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 55
?
0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in 124 organic compost samples made from livestock manure, poultry waste, crop straw, and solid waste, finding that all types contained significant microplastic loads. Solid waste compost had the highest levels while crop straw compost had the lowest, and the particles showed signs of weathering and mineral attachment. The findings suggest that applying organic compost to farmland may be an underappreciated source of microplastic pollution entering agricultural soils.
Organic composts are considered emerging contributors to microplastics (MPs) accumulation in agricultural soils. However, MPs pollution in organic compost from different raw materials is unknown. This study investigated MPs occurrence and characteristics in 124 organic compost samples, including single feedstock (livestock manure, poultry manure, crop straw, and solid waste) and compound organic composts, and quantitatively assessed related ecological risks of MPs pollution. The highest and lowest MPs abundances were observed in solid waste (6615 items kg) and crop straw (1500 items kg) composts, respectively. Compost MPs were mainly 0.5-1 mm (39.5%), colorful polypropylene and polyethylene fragments and films, and polyethylene terephthalate fibers, and the input to farmland soils was 6.96 × 10 to 1.88 × 10 items ha yr. Regardless of feedstock, compost-based MPs of different shapes exhibited complicated weathering morphologies and adhered to some mineral colloids. The highest and lowest MPs-induced risk indices in solid waste (H = 134.3) and crop straw (H = 8.9) composts yielded hazard levels IV (high risk) and II (low risk), respectively, due to the different abundance of polymers with diverse hazard scores. These findings provide insights into MPs pollution in organic composts and a theoretical basis for the safe production and application of compost.