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Microplastics are in our fertilisers and soils, yet we know next to nothing about their environmental and health impacts
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Researchers highlighted that microplastics are routinely present in both synthetic and organic fertilizers, meaning they are being directly applied to farmland worldwide, yet almost nothing is known about how this contaminates food crops or affects the health of people who eat them.
Synthetic fertiliser prices have shot up amid the war in Ukraine. Could organic fertilisers provide a worthy alternative?
More Papers Like This
Microplastics aren’t just a problem for the ocean – they’re in our soils too
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Microplastic contamination of agricultural soils is now widespread globally, with modeling approaches enabling researchers to estimate pollution levels across regions where direct sampling is limited. Soil microplastics threaten crop productivity and soil ecosystem health, and because they move into groundwater and food crops, they represent a direct human exposure pathway beyond what is found in oceans.
We have no idea how much microplastic is in Australia’s soil (but it could be a lot)
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Scientists warn that Australian soils likely contain substantial amounts of microplastics, but a lack of systematic monitoring means the scale, location, and ecological impact remain largely unknown. Soil is a major but understudied reservoir for microplastic pollution globally.
Microplastics in Soil: An Emerging Threat
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Researchers reviewed the emerging problem of microplastic pollution in soil, tracing contamination to agricultural practices, industrial activities, and atmospheric deposition, and examining downstream risks to ecosystem health and human well-being.
Microplastics in Soil: Unveiling the Threat Within the Earth’s Crucial Ecosystem
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Researchers surveyed the sources, ecological impacts, and remediation strategies for microplastic contamination in soil, revealing that agricultural practices, plastic mulch, sewage sludge application, and atmospheric deposition are primary pathways loading microplastics into terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microplastics threaten plant health, soil microbiome function, and food security while serving as a vector carrying toxic additives and pathogens up the food chain to humans.
Microplastics are everywhere — we need to understand how they affect human health
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Researchers highlight that microplastics are now accumulating in human organs and tissues, and urgently call for deeper scientific investigation into what this means for human health — as the particles are virtually everywhere but their biological effects remain poorly understood.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.