Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
  • How you can help
      • Consumer
      • Business
      • Community
      • Kids
      • At school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Donate
  • NL
  • EN
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: News An underestimated threat: the pollution of land by microplastics

An underestimated threat: the pollution of land by microplastics

Photo: Falk Negrazius, Benin Wikicommons

Amsterdam, 1 March 2018 – Microplastics are not just a threat to the marine environment, they also threaten the land environment. The long-term impact of microplastics in soil can have all kinds of negative effects on terrestrial ecosystems, in other words on land, with even greater impact than at sea. German researchers at the Leibniz-Institute published a warning in Sciencedaily.

The researchers point out that much more plastic finishes up on land than at sea, four to 23 times as much. Worldwide around a third of all the plastic produced finishes up in soils or freshwaters. An important source is sewage sludge, which is used as manure. This sludge contains microplastics which have been removed from water in water purification plants, for instance larger microfibers released during the machine washing of synthetic clothing.

The researchers wondered what impact microplastics have on land and analyzed the little research which has been done on this subject. Among their findings was the following:

  • Microplastics can be found in agricultural soil all over the world;
  • Microplastics can spread pathogenic bacteria and effect the fitness of worms;
  • When additives such as Bisphenol A leach out of plastic, hormone disruptive substances are released.

The long-term effects of these phenomena are still largely unknown. It is therefore essential that programs to measure the effects of microplastics in soil are developed quickly in order to assess the risks.

Search

Categories

  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • Trash hunters (49)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Beat the microbead (18)
  • Solutions (11)
  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (57)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Microbeads (27)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • About us (1)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • Blogs (16)
  • My little plastic footprint (5)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)
  • Synthetic fibers (19)
  • Political plume (3)
  • actions frontpage (1)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (2)
  • Junior (1)
  • No category (1)
  • News (540)
  • What can you do? (13)
  • Health Files (39)
  • Clean rivers (24)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

Glitter = Litter 

Glitter seems fun and harmless, but these microplastics will remain in the environment forever.

Read more

Beat the Microbead. A provisional review of our campaign

After a decade of battle and debate, a European ban on intentionally added microplastics is forthcoming. A reflection on our campaign.

Read more

PLASTIC HEALTH SYMPOSIUM 2023 

We eat, drink and breathe microplastics, nanoplastics and their additives and are thus exposed to the risks of these materials on a daily basis. Let’s make a wave!

Read more

Is there a relationship between dramatic insect mortality and microplastics? 

Insect numbers are dramatically decreasing. Yet, microplastic pollution is rarely mentioned as a possible cause.

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter

Our approach

  • Business Community
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 
© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
California legislation will require polyester clothing to have a microfiber...Favourable outlook for natural branding
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

x
Settings

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten