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Plastics derived from disposable greenhouse plastic films and irrigation pipes in agricultural soils: a case study from Turkey
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Researchers investigated plastic contamination in agricultural soils in Turkey where disposable greenhouse films and irrigation pipes are used. They found an average of 16.5 plastic pieces per kilogram of soil, with about 42% being microplastics, and evidence indicates that removing used plastics after the growing season significantly reduces soil contamination.
Plastics are ubiquitous. It has been used in human activities, from agriculture to packaging, infrastructure, and health. The wide range of usage makes plastics an omnipresent pollutant in the environment. This study investigated the abundance and type of plastics in agricultural soil in the Adana/Karataş region in Turkey, where disposable low-tunnel greenhouse plastic films and irrigation pipes were in use. For this purpose, 1 kg of soil samples from the top 5 cm (from the surface) was taken from 10 different sampling locations. An average of 16.5 ± 2.4 pcs/kg was found in the soil samples. The highest amount of plastics was seen at the Bahçe-4 location with 39.7 ± 12 pcs/kg and the lowest amount of plastics at the Karataş-1 location with 0.7 ± 0.3 pcs/kg. The average size of plastics was found to be 18.2 ± 1.3 mm. The average size of plastics originating from greenhouse cover was 18.9 ± 1.4 mm, and from disposable irrigation pipes was 12.5 ± 3.5 mm. It was determined that 41.9% of extracted plastics were microplastics, 36.3% were mesoplastics, 16.3% were macroplastics, and 5.6% were megaplastics. Results indicated that residual plastics decreased in the soil where used plastics were removed after usage. As a result, it is worth noting that a significant amount of plastics remain in soil due to plastics being used in agricultural areas.
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Microplastics Derived From Disposable Greenhouse Plastic Films and Irrigation Pipes: A Case Study From Turkey
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Researchers found an average of 11.13 microplastics/kg in agricultural soils in Turkey's Adana region where disposable greenhouse plastic films and irrigation pipes are used, with one site reaching 32 microplastics/kg, linking agricultural plastic inputs directly to soil microplastic contamination.
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