{"id":3501292,"date":"2022-10-20T09:18:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T08:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalfactor.com\/?p=3501292"},"modified":"2022-10-20T09:22:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T08:22:54","slug":"plastics-are-piling-up-in-soil-across-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalfactor.com\/en\/plastics-are-piling-up-in-soil-across-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastics are piling up in soil across the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plastics are used extensively in agriculture, from plastic-coated seeds to protective wraps used to modify soil temperature and prevent weed growth over crops.<\/p>\n

These synthetic materials also added intentionally to biosolid fertilizer, which is spread on fields, and are used in irrigation tubes, sacks and bottles.<\/p>\n

Biodiversity, health impacts<\/b><\/p>\n

While all these products have helped increase crop yields, there is growing evidence that degraded plastics are contaminating the soil and impacting biodiversity and soil health, the report warns.<\/p>\n

Moreover, microplastics, such as the one used in some fertilizers, are also impacting human health when transferred to people through the food chain.<\/p>\n

Everything\u2019s affected by plastic<\/b><\/p>\n

Over time, big pieces of plastic can break into shards less than 5 mm long and seep into the soil.<\/p>\n

These microplastics can change the physical structure of the earth underfoot and limit its capacity to hold water. They also can affect plants by reducing root growth and nutrient uptake.<\/p>\n

Currently the single-biggest source of microplastic pollution in soil, is fertilizers produced from organic matter such as manure.<\/p>\n

Although these can be cheaper and better for the environment that manufactured fertilizers, the manure is mixed with the same plastic microspheres that are known to be commonly used in certain soaps, shampoos, and makeup products.<\/p>\n

While some countries have banned these microspheres, other microplastics continue to enter our water systems via discarded cigarette filters, tire components, and synthetic clothing fibres.<\/p>\n

What to do?<\/b><\/p>\n

Progress is being made to improve the biodegradability of polymers used in agricultural products.<\/p>\n

However, some protective films \u2013 used to prevent moisture loss \u2013 are now being marketed as fully biodegradable and compostable, which is not always the case.<\/p>\n

Bio-based polymers are not necessarily biodegradable, some may be as toxic as fossil fuel-based polymers, and their price is still an issue.<\/p>\n

A solution proposed by the report authors are the so-called \u2018cover crops\u2019, which shield the soil and are not meant to be harvested.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/b> UN News<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Climate Change News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3501293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3501292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPlastics are piling up in soil across the world - Global Factor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.globalfactor.com\/en\/plastics-are-piling-up-in-soil-across-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Plastics are piling up in soil across the world - Global Factor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Climate Change News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.globalfactor.com\/en\/plastics-are-piling-up-in-soil-across-the-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Global Factor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-10-20T08:18:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-20T08:22:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.globalfactor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/pexels-magda-ehlers-2547565-scaled-e1666253871619.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"globalfactor.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@global_factor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@global_factor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"globalfactor.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Plastics are piling up in soil across the world - 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