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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to From organic fertilizer to the soils: What happens to the microplastics? A critical review
ClearOrganic fertilizers as a vector of microplastics: A comprehensive review of sources, dispersion, and environmental consequences
This review synthesized evidence on how organic fertilizers — including sewage sludge and composts — act as vectors for microplastic transport into agricultural soils. The authors document how MPs from degraded plastics, textiles, and personal care products enter farming systems and affect soil health, plant growth, and the broader food chain.
Microplastic contamination of organic fertilisers applied to agricultural soils
This study examined microplastic contamination in organic fertilizers applied to agricultural soils, finding plastic particles in multiple fertilizer types. Organic fertilizers derived from sewage sludge or compost can introduce microplastics into farmland, potentially contaminating crops and groundwater.
Comprehensive understanding of microplastics in compost: Ecological risks and degradation mechanisms
This review examines how microplastics enter soil through compost made from household waste, sewage sludge, and agricultural waste. Microplastics in compost can disrupt soil structure, reduce fertility, and persist in the environment long after application. Since compost is widely used in farming, this represents a significant pathway for microplastics to contaminate agricultural soil and potentially enter the food chain.
Do contaminants compromise the use of recycled nutrients in organic agriculture? A review and synthesis of current knowledge on contaminant concentrations, fate in the environment and risk assessment
This review examines whether recycled nutrients from waste streams, such as sewage sludge and compost, introduce harmful contaminants including microplastics into organic farmland. While levels of heavy metals and many pollutants have decreased in European waste streams, microplastic contamination in agricultural soil remains widespread and poorly understood. The review highlights that spreading waste-derived fertilizers on farmland is a significant pathway for microplastics to enter the food production system.
Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment
Researchers analyzed organic fertilizers produced from biowaste composting and fermentation and found microplastic particles in all samples tested. The contamination likely enters the fertilizer through improperly sorted household waste that includes plastic packaging and other synthetic materials. The study identifies organic fertilizer application as a previously overlooked pathway for introducing microplastics into agricultural soils, which could have implications for soil health and food safety.
Estimation of microplastics entering agricultural soil through the use of biofertilizers
Scientists found that organic fertilizers made from food waste contain tiny plastic particles called microplastics, which end up in farm soil when the fertilizers are applied. These microscopic plastic bits can potentially enter our food chain through crops grown in that soil. This research helps us understand another way that plastic pollution might affect the food we eat, though more studies are needed to determine the actual health risks.
Microplastics in composts, digestates, and food wastes: A review
This review examines how food waste composting and recycling processes can introduce microplastics into agricultural soil. When food waste mixed with plastic packaging is composted or processed through anaerobic digestion, microplastic fragments can end up in the soil amendments spread on farmland. The findings highlight an overlooked pathway by which microplastics enter the food chain, as crops grown in contaminated compost may absorb or accumulate plastic particles.
Organic matter and microplastics nexus: A comprehensive understanding of the synergistic impact on soil health
This review examines how microplastics and organic matter interact in soil, finding that common soil additions like compost and sewage sludge are significant sources of microplastic contamination. The interplay between these substances can disrupt nutrient cycling, soil biology, and carbon storage, which ultimately affects the quality of food grown in contaminated soil.
Quantification and identification of microplastics in organic fertilizers: the implication for the manufacture and safe application
Researchers measured microplastic contamination in 23 commercial organic fertilizers, finding widespread presence at levels that could meaningfully contribute to agricultural soil pollution when fertilizers are applied. The results raise concerns about organic fertilizers as an underappreciated pathway for microplastics entering farm soils and the food system.
Origin, Distribution, Fate, and Remediation of Microplastics in Biowastes and Biowaste-Amended Soil
This review chapter tracks how microplastics enter agricultural soil through land-applied biowastes — manure, compost, crop residues, and biosolids — and how they then become available for uptake by soil organisms and entry into the food chain. Because microplastics adsorb other contaminants and act as vectors for co-pollutants, the authors argue that biowaste land application is a significant but underappreciated pathway for microplastic accumulation in the human food supply.
Microplastic contamination in agricultural soils from mulch films and organic amendments: Transformation mechanism, soil-Biota toxicity, and future perspectives
This review examines how agricultural soils are becoming increasingly contaminated with microplastics from plastic mulch films and organic amendments like compost, with land-based contamination being 4 to 23 times higher than in water. Microplastics in farmland can harm soil organisms, disrupt soil structure, and enter the food chain through crops, posing potential risks to human health.
The treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as a possible source of micro- and nano-plastics and bioplastics in agroecosystems: a review
Researchers reviewed how treating municipal organic waste — like food scraps — for compost and fertilizer introduces micro- and nanoplastics, including fragments of biodegradable plastics, into farmland soils, with current data too limited to fully assess the contamination risk of applying this waste to agricultural fields.
Unveiling the abundance and potential impacts of microplastic contamination in commercial organic fertilizers/compost produced from different solid waste
Researchers analyzed commercial organic fertilizers made from different waste sources and found microplastics in 80% of the samples, with compost from mixed municipal waste containing the highest levels. The estimated amounts of microplastics being introduced into agricultural soils through these fertilizers exceeded previous reports. The study highlights the need for stricter regulations on organic fertilizer quality to prevent microplastic contamination of farmland.
Microplastics in the agricultural soils: Pollution behavior and subsequent effects
This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics accumulate in farmland through fertilizers, irrigation, plastic mulch, and atmospheric fallout. Microplastics change soil structure, harm beneficial microbes, and can be taken up by crops, moving through the food chain to humans. The authors emphasize that more research is needed to understand the long-term health risks of eating food grown in microplastic-contaminated soil.
Microplastics in agricultural soils: sources, impacts, and mitigation strategies
This review summarizes how microplastics enter agricultural soils through wastewater irrigation, plastic mulch breakdown, and atmospheric deposition, where they alter soil structure, microbial communities, and water retention. The particles can also carry heavy metals and organic pollutants into the food chain, threatening both crop productivity and human health, making it important to reduce plastic use in farming and improve waste management.
Microplastics as pollutants in agricultural soils
This review examines how microplastics end up in agricultural soils through sewage sludge application, wastewater irrigation, plastic mulch films, and atmospheric deposition. Researchers found that microplastics interact with soil organisms and can alter soil structure and microbial communities, but standardized detection methods are still lacking. The study highlights the need for research on how microplastics move through soil, their effects on crop health, and global policies to address this growing agricultural concern.
Organic amendments as vectors of micro and macro plastic pollution of terrestrial ecosystems
Researchers analyzed seven types of organic amendments commonly applied to farmland, including sewage sludge, manure, composts, and digestates, for microplastic contamination. They found microplastics in all samples, with sewage sludge containing the highest levels and a wide variety of polymer types. The study demonstrates that organic soil amendments are an important and underappreciated pathway through which both micro and macro plastics enter agricultural soils.
Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in organic fertilizers in China
Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in organic fertilizers across China, finding widespread plastic particles in compost, manure, and biosolids, identifying fertilizer application as an emerging pathway for microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils.
From waste to resource: unveiling the nexus between compost, microplastics, and agroecosystem
This review examines how compost derived from municipal waste introduces microplastics into agricultural soils, with polypropylene, polyethylene, and PET being the most commonly found polymers. Researchers found that smaller microplastic particles pose greater risks to agroecosystem sustainability, and that even bioplastics can persist as a non-point source of contamination. The study suggests that adding biochar during composting and stricter monitoring of feedstock quality could help reduce microplastic contamination.
Microplastics in Agricultural Soils
This review covers the presence of microplastics in agricultural soils, examining how plastic mulches, irrigation water, sewage sludge, and atmospheric deposition contribute to farmland contamination. It discusses effects on soil organisms and the risk of microplastics entering the food chain through crops.
Origin, Occurrence and Threats of Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: A Comprehensive Review
This comprehensive review examines how microplastics enter and accumulate in agricultural soils through plastic mulch films, sewage sludge, and fertilizers. Researchers found that polypropylene and polyethylene are the dominant polymers in farmland soils, and that microplastics negatively affect soil microbial communities, harm soil invertebrates, and can induce oxidative stress and cell damage in plants.
Microplastics in Sludges and Soils: A Comprehensive Review on Distribution, Characteristics, and Effects
This review summarizes research on microplastics in sewage sludge and soil, noting that when contaminated sludge is used as fertilizer, it turns farmland into a major reservoir for microplastic pollution. The accumulated microplastics can alter soil properties, harm soil organisms, and potentially enter crops and groundwater, creating pathways for human exposure through food and drinking water.
Migration of Microplastic‐Bound Contaminants to Soil and Their Effects
This chapter reviews how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils via sewage sludge and compost applications, adsorb heavy metals, organic pollutants, and antibiotics, and transport these contaminants into farmland, posing risks to the food chain and human health.
Microplastics pollution modulating soil biological health – A review
This review summarizes how microplastics enter agricultural soil through recycled water, fertilizer made from sewage, and plastic mulch, and how they affect the organisms that keep soil healthy. Microplastics can carry chemical additives and environmental pollutants that harm soil bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates. These disruptions to soil health could affect crop growth and food quality, creating an indirect pathway for microplastics to impact human nutrition.