this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
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7,000 Microplastics Studies Show We Have One Really Big Problem (www.sciencealert.com)
submitted 9 months ago by just_another_person@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world
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[–] erlend_sh@lemmy.world 73 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Studies have identified some of the main sources of microplastics as:

  • plastic-coated fertilisers
  • plastic film used as mulch in agriculture

WTF?

  • plastics recycling.

Uuuuh…

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 25 points 9 months ago (2 children)
  • plastic film used as mulch in agriculture

Wtf. Where and why?!

[–] SuperCub@sh.itjust.works 65 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

It's the black plastic bag material that people used to cover their soil and poke holes through for their crops.

I never thought it was called plastic mulch though.

[–] Revan343@lemmy.ca 20 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It serves the same purpose as actual mulch, which is blocking out weeds

[–] SuperCub@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but mulch has the meaning of ground up wood, so I think most people would think it was ground up plastics.

[–] capital_sniff@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

If it was ground up plastic it would probably just get carried off by the wind.

[–] tb_@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Or plastic greenhouses

[–] kurwa@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Plastic was never meant to be recycled.

[–] Wiz@midwest.social 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So, what you're telling us is, they've been lying for decades?

[–] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Yup passing on the responsibility from the manufacturer to the consumer

[–] ConstantPain@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Other great source of plastics are synthetic fabrics. It releases a lot of micro particles in the water during washing and drying cycles.

[–] nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Have you seen the process used in plastic recycling? The plastic is literally triturated into tiny bits before being heated up for the next stages.

Edit: why the downvotes? I'm just trying to give some context on why plastic recycling is a great source of microplastics