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A new multinational research project working with five low and middle income countries (LMICs) and funded by the UKs Natural Environment Research Council is to search for ways to resolve the plastic pollution caused by adopting plastics as cheap and readily available mulch layers, and other uses.��
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It will have the dual focus of addressing current problems and setting up legacies to enable future generations to engage with the problem.
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The UK Reserch & Innovation Award will see three ������ϲʹ������� experts, Professors Davey Jones Dave Chadwick and Peter Golyshin of the University’s School of Natural Resources working with research groups from the Universities of Bristol and Reading in the UK, and soil scientists, socio-economic researchers, advisor and farmer networks, agri-industries and regional governments in China, Egypt, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. ��The five countries selected are at differing points in tackling their acute problems with agricultural plastics.��
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Together, these countries use 3 million tonnes of agricultural plastic film each year covering 25 million hectares of agricultural land. They also span a wide range of climates and possess a range of governance structures.
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As well as quantifying the risks posed by the plastics currently in the soil, the teams at each location will co-design practical, economic, socially acceptable and politically viable solutions specific to the needs and problems of their country in order to reduce plastic legacy.
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The focus for Davey Jones, Professor of Soil Science is to investigate the impacts that conventional macro-, micro- and nano-plastics that are degrading within soils pose to the long-term health of agricultural ecosystems.��
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He said:
“These plastics have wrought great improvements. The use of plastic mulch films in particular, have transformed the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers across the world. The use of plastic for such purposes should continue, alongside the continued development of sustainable agriculture.��
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But the fate and disposal of plastics have never been properly addressed. We need to know what impact these widely used materials are having on the environment and on human health.”
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