ISTOCK, MAERZKINDThe recycling of biological waste from homes and businesses to make fertilizer, either through composting or fertilization, is a source of microplastic pollution, according to a study published today (April 4) in Science Advances. The particles were present despite efforts to sort and sieve out plastic contaminants either before or after the waste was processed, the authors note.
“The recycling of organic waste through composting or fermentation and subsequent application on agricultural land is, in principle, an environmentally sound practice to return nutrients, trace elements, and humus to the soil,” the study authors write. “However, most household and municipal biowaste is contaminated by plastic material.”
Microplastics, which the new study defines as plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, result from the breakdown of plastics, and are pervasive both on land and in the oceans. While the extent of their environmental and health effects is not clear, studies have found they’re detrimental to the health of organisms such as earthworms and rodents, and that they make their way into human food supplies.
In the new study, researchers at the University of Bayreuth in Germany ...
