Microplastics end up in organic fertilizers. Free Technical Library News

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Microplastics end up in organic fertilizers

20.04.2018

Microplastics are microscopic plastic elements that are not visible to the human eye. However, they pose an even greater danger to the environment than large plastic bottles and bags. Microplastics are now floating in all the world's oceans and end up in the food of marine life. However, on land, it can cause huge problems.

The researchers wondered if the small plastic particles that end up in uneaten food and plant waste on farms could also find their way into fertilizers. To find the answer, the scientists tested composts from several processing plants that were produced both aerobically and anaerobically.

In aerobic composting, decomposition takes place in the presence of oxygen: the waste is mixed with the soil, microbes break it down and turn it into material suitable for "feeding" plants. Anaerobic decomposition occurs in an oxygen-free environment: organic material enters either a sealed vessel or a pit, which is covered with a film, where it rots, "digests". With this method, not only fertilizers are obtained, but also biogas is produced.

As a result of the study, the scientists found some microplastics in all the samples they tested. Plastic elements were not found only in those fertilizers that were obtained from plant waste. They also found that the amount of microplastics depends on how they are recycled. More plastic microfibers end up in fertilizers obtained from aerobic composting. Experts suggest that microplastic gets into biowaste from food products (in which it is also present), as well as from plastic containers in which waste is collected and stored.

Tests were carried out at processing plants in Germany. This is a unique study because Germany is considered a country that takes organic waste management and, in general, waste sorting seriously. So, products that have long been spoiled in the refrigerator are sent to a separate wastebasket, and then to processing plants, where they are cleaned before being turned into fertilizers.

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