Large quantities of microplastic particles from cosmetics, clothing and industrial processes could be ending up on agricultural land that is fertilized with urban sewage sludge. This calls for urgent investigation if we are to safeguard food production and reuse wastewater products.
Unlike microplastics that pollute the oceans, little is known about the particles' prevalence and potential effects in terrestrial and freshwater environments. Because they are retained in sewage and domestic waste water after treatment in municipal plants (S. A. Carr et al. Water Res. 91, 174–182; 2016), they could be contaminating agricultural soils — with unknown consequences for farm ecosystems and food security.
We estimate from emissions data (see, for example, go.nature.com/2ce0z6l) that 63,000–430,000 and 44,000–300,000 tonnes of microplastics could be being added annually to farmlands in Europe and North America, respectively.
This figure exceeds the estimated global burden of microplastics in oceanic surface waters of 93,000–236,000 tonnes (E. van Sebille et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 124006; 2015).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nizzetto, L., Langaas, S. & Futter, M. Pollution: Do microplastics spill on to farm soils?. Nature 537, 488 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/537488b
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/537488b
This article is cited by
-
Distribution of microplastics in soil by types of land use in metropolitan area of Seoul
Applied Biological Chemistry (2024)
-
Comparison of learning models to predict LDPE, PET, and ABS concentrations in beach sediment based on spectral reflectance
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Methane emissions and rice yield in a paddy soil: the effect of biochar and polystyrene microplastics interaction
Paddy and Water Environment (2023)
-
Caenorhabditis elegans: a model organism in the toxicity assessment of environmental pollutants
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023)
-
Exploring the interaction between microplastics and heavy metals: unveiling the impact of microplastics on lead sorption and desorption in soil
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (2023)