Editorial Comment

In recent years, plastic has earned itself a fairly damning reputation. Responsible for contributing towards pollution, climate change and the demise of wildlife and ecosystems, what we once saw as a beneficial property of the material – its durability and robustness – has now become a threat to the future of the planet. It is understandable, therefore, that the idea of ‘microplastics’, tiny pieces of plastic debris resulting from the breakdown of industrial and consumer material, makes many of us feel uncomfortable.

Smaller than a speck of dust, microplastics can be transported through a wide range of environmental media, with fragments being discovered globally within drinking water and within the foods we consume, as well as products like cosmetics. A new study by researchers with Ocean Conservancy and the University of Toronto found that microplastics were present in nearly 90% of protein food samples they tested, which included pork, chicken, beef, and plant-based alternatives.¹An average litre bottle of water was also found to contain on average 240 000 ‘nanoplastic’ fragments,² with American adults estimated to be consuming at least 11 000 pieces of microplastic per year.¹

It is no surprise that these statistics have led to apprehension, and beg the question – just how concerned should we be? Newspaper headlines would lead us to believe that microplastics are a valid cause for unease, both in terms of their environmental and human health impact. In late 2023, an article in The Guardian discussed the possibility that microplastics found in the clouds could affect the weather and global temperatures, whilst other publications have debated their potential carcinogenic properties.³

Author and Chief Scientist at Ocean Conservancy, George Leonard, however, has claimed that “people shouldn’t be panicking about the concentration of plastics in their food… yet.” He concluded, “we need to do a lot more science.”¹ With research still in its infancy, there appears to be much to learn in the sphere of microplastics.

From the clouds above Mount Fuji to the freshly fallen snow in Antarctica, microplastics have been discovered everywhere, and our agricultural soils are no exception. A longstanding experiment dating back to 1843 has recently revealed an increase in microplastic in agricultural soils treated with fertilizer between 1966 and 2022, signifying that fertilizer has been a large contributor to microplastic pollution over time.⁴ Researchers believe that direct applications of plastic to soil, such as crop covers, plastic mulch films, and polymer-coated agrochemicals are to blame, as well as non-biodegradable polymers used in controlled release inorganic fertilizers. As a result, crop quality has been impacted, as well as soil properties and yield, which is only set to worsen as microplastic levels increase.

While complete removal of plastic from agriculture may be unfeasible, with huge repercussions for global food security, there are regulations currently in place to restrict the use of microplastics that are intentionally added to products, such as polymers used in fertilizers. According to Fertilizers Europe, from 2026, only polymers meeting the new biodegradability requirements outlined in the new Fertilizing Products Regulation will be allowed on the market.⁵ It is hoped that more stringent requirements such as these will lead to exciting new developments within the industry, making microplastics a micro problem.

Emily Thomas