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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Adoption of Solid Waste Compost in Paddy Farming: Insights from Sri Lanka’s Organic Farming Policy
ClearComposting in Sri Lanka: Policies, Practices, Challenges, and Emerging Concerns
This review examines composting policies, practices, and challenges in Sri Lanka, noting that rising urban organic waste and shifting dietary patterns are increasing composting demand while governance and implementation gaps create emerging concerns around plastic contamination in compost.
Assessing the Challenges of Transitioning to Organic Fertilizers: A Case Study in Mahaweli System-B, Sri Lanka
Researchers surveyed 100 farmers in the Dimbulagala Block of Sri Lanka's Mahaweli System-B to assess barriers to transitioning from inorganic to organic fertilizers following a 2021 government mandate, finding significant logistical challenges in transport, storage, and application, along with concerns about yield reduction, with farmer adaptability varying by age, education, and experience.
Compost Quality and Markets Are Pivotal for Sustainability in Circular Food-Nutrient Systems: A Case Study of Sri Lanka
This study used an interdisciplinary case study approach to assess Sri Lanka's municipal solid waste composting system, finding that compost quality issues including microplastic contamination and market limitations are key barriers to achieving sustainable circular food-nutrient systems.
Analytical Methods for Extraction of Microplastics from Compost in Sri Lanka
This study evaluated analytical methods for extracting microplastics from compost in Sri Lanka, where compost is an important agricultural input but also a significant pathway for microplastic contamination of soil. The research compared extraction approaches to identify reliable protocols suitable for local laboratory conditions.
Microplastics as an underestimated emerging contaminant in solid organic waste and their biological products: Occurrence, fate and ecological risks
This review identified solid organic waste streams including compost, sewage sludge, and food waste as important but underappreciated repositories of microplastics that can reintroduce particles into agricultural soils and water systems. The authors call for standardized monitoring of microplastics in organic waste before environmental application.
How to incentivize farmers to adopt and recycle high-standard plastic mulch in China: economic subsidies, government regulations or social norms?
A survey of 635 farmers in Gansu Province, China assessed drivers of high-standard plastic mulch adoption and recycling, finding that economic subsidies were more effective than government mandates or social norms in encouraging environmentally responsible mulch management.
Microplastics identification and quantification in the composted Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste
Researchers quantified microplastics in composted organic municipal solid waste from five facilities, finding contamination levels that raise concerns about compost quality and the potential transfer of microplastics to agricultural soils through organic waste recycling.
Microplastics in Composts as a Barrier to the Development of Circular Economy
This Polish paper discusses how microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in compost materials represents a significant barrier to implementing circular economy principles in organic waste management. When compost containing microplastics is applied to agricultural fields, it introduces plastic particles into soils and potentially into food crops.
Current challenges on the widespread adoption of new bio-based fertilizers: insights to move forward toward more circular food systems
This review examines the challenges of adopting bio-based fertilizers made from food and agricultural waste as replacements for synthetic mineral fertilizers. While bio-based fertilizers can improve soil health and reduce reliance on finite resources, barriers include inconsistent nutrient content, concerns about contaminants like microplastics and heavy metals in waste-derived products, and the need for farmer-friendly application methods. The study is relevant because sewage sludge used in some fertilizers is a known source of microplastic contamination in farmland.
Composting as a Sustainable Solution for Organic Solid Waste Management: Current Practices and Potential Improvements
This systematic review of composting practices finds that technological advances like microbial inoculants and in-vessel systems have improved efficiency, but managing contaminants such as heavy metals and microplastics in compost remains a significant challenge. The presence of microplastics in organic waste streams threatens compost quality and can introduce plastic pollution into agricultural soils.
Farmers’ perceptions and capacity for 3Rs agro-waste management in a vegetable growing area of Bangladesh
Researchers surveyed 125 vegetable farmers in Bangladesh using structured questionnaires to analyze their perceptions and capacity for implementing the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) framework for agro-waste management. Findings identified that intercultural and harvesting stages generate the highest diversity of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste, while farmer capacity for waste management remained constrained.
Análise da eficiência de compostagem e vermicompostagem para resíduos sólidos orgânicos com inserção de material biodegradável
Researchers analysed the efficiency of composting and vermicomposting for organic solid waste in Brazil, incorporating biodegradable materials and evaluating how these treatment approaches can reduce the approximately 45.3% of urban solid waste that currently ends up in landfills.
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.
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.
Life Cycle Assessment of Selected Single-Use Plastic Products towards Evidence-Based Policy Recommendations in Sri Lanka
Researchers applied life cycle assessment to common single-use plastic products in Sri Lanka, quantifying their environmental impacts across production to disposal and providing evidence-based recommendations to guide national plastic pollution policy.
Composting of Organic Solid Waste of Municipal Origin: The Role of Research in Enhancing Its Sustainability
This review examines the role of composting in managing the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, highlighting both its benefits for material recovery and its challenges. Researchers found that issues such as the presence of microplastics and other toxic substances in compost can undermine the circularity of the process. The study suggests that continued research is needed to improve composting practices and reduce contaminant transfer to agricultural soils.
The Cost of Plastics in Compost
This study examined the cost and time associated with removing plastics from green waste before composting in Malawi, finding that plastic contamination is a major barrier to making composting economically viable. Plastic in compost feedstocks spreads microplastics into soils when the compost is applied to farm fields.
What Hinders the Development of a Sustainable Compostable Packaging Market?
This review examines the barriers hindering the development of a sustainable compostable packaging market as an alternative to conventional plastics, noting that roughly 80% of marine litter originates from plastic food packaging. The authors identified regulatory fragmentation, consumer confusion, and inadequate industrial composting infrastructure as the main obstacles slowing the transition to compostable solutions.
Selection of Suitable Organic Amendments to Balance Agricultural Economic Benefits and Carbon Sequestration
Researchers evaluated organic soil amendments for balancing agricultural productivity with soil health, finding that amendment type and application rate affect nutrient cycling, microbial activity, and the potential for microplastic introduction via compost or sludge.
Investigating the Use of Plastic and Its Disposal in Agriculture in Malta
A case study of Malta found that incineration and direct soil incorporation of agricultural plastic waste are common practices among farmers, releasing chemicals and microplastics into soils that grow food crops. The research identified strong willingness among farmers to adopt better disposal methods, suggesting that education-focused policy interventions could meaningfully reduce agricultural plastic pollution at the source.
Unraveling the characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soils upon long-term organic fertilizer application: A comprehensive study using diversity indices
Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils that had received organic fertilizers (pig manure, chicken manure, and sewage sludge compost) for 12 years. All three fertilizer types introduced significant microplastic pollution, with risk levels classified as high across all treatments. This study shows that organic fertilizers, often considered environmentally friendly, are a major pathway for microplastics to enter the soil and potentially the food we grow in it.
Compost‐Hosted Microplastics – Municipal Solid Waste Compost
This review examines microplastics hosted in municipal solid waste compost, addressing a gap in research that has largely focused on marine ecosystems, and discussing the sources, prevalence, and potential impacts of microplastics in compost on terrestrial ecosystems, agriculture, and soil health.
Food Waste–Derived Organic Fertilizers: Critical Insights, Agronomic Impacts, and Pathways for Sustainable Adoption
This review critically examined four conversion routes for turning food waste into organic fertilizers—composting, vermicomposting, anaerobic digestion, and pyrolysis—evaluating their impacts on soil health, nutrient cycling, crop yield, and environmental trade-offs including microplastic contamination.
Microplastic Contamination of Composts and Liquid Fertilizers from Municipal Biowaste Treatment Plants: Effects of the Operating Conditions
Researchers measured microplastic contamination in fertilizers produced from municipal organic waste and found that while solid composts generally stayed within regulatory limits, liquid fertilizers from some facilities contained up to 10,000 plastic particles per liter — raising concerns about microplastic inputs to farmland from compost and digestate applications.