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Microplastic Contamination in Soils: A Review from Geotechnical Engineering View
Summary
Researchers reviewed microplastic contamination in soils from a geotechnical engineering perspective, examining how plastic degradation leads to widespread soil contamination. They identified landfills and various geotechnical applications such as tire chip fills and polystyrene lightweight fills as potential sources of microplastic pollution in soils. The review highlights the need for geotechnical engineers to consider the long-term effects of microplastic contamination on soil properties and groundwater quality.
Microplastic contamination is a growing threat to marine and freshwater ecosystems, agricultural production, groundwater, plant growth and even human and animal health. Disintegration of plastic products due to mainly biochemical or physical activities leads to the formation and existence of microplastics in significant amounts, not only in marine and freshwater environments but also in soils. There are several valuable studies on microplastics in soils, which have typically focused on environmental, chemical, agricultural and health aspects. However, there is also a need for the geotechnical engineering perspective on microplastic contamination in soils. In this review paper, first, degradation, existence and persistence of microplastics in soils are assessed by considering various studies. Then, the potential role of solid waste disposal facilities as a source for microplastics is discussed by considering their geotechnical design and addressing the risk for the migration of microplastics from landfills to soils and other environments. Even though landfills are considered as one of the main geotechnical structures that contribute to the formation of considerably high amounts of microplastics and their contamination in soils, some other geotechnical engineering applications (i.e., soil improvement with tirechips, forming engineering fills with dredged sediments, soil improvement with synthetic polymer-based fibers, polystyrene based lightweight fill applications), as potential local source for microplastics, are also mentioned. Finally, the importance of geotechnical engineering as a mitigation tool for microplastics is emphasized and several important research topics involving geotechnical engineering are suggested.