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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

Plastic pollution: European farmland could be largest global reservoir of microplastics

2022
James Lofty, Valentine Muhawenimana, Pablo Ouro

Summary

European farmland may represent the world's largest reservoir of environmental microplastics, with an estimated 42,000 tonnes of microplastics deposited annually via sewage sludge used as agricultural fertilizer, ultimately washing back into waterways. This finding implicates wastewater treatment practices as a major driver of terrestrial microplastic accumulation and downstream contamination of food crops and drinking water sources.

Body Systems
Reproductive

Up to 42,000 tonnes a year of microplastics are removed from sewage, spread on fields as fertiliser and eventually wash back into watercourses.

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