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ysabetwordsmithScientists trace fertilizer microplastics from fields to beaches
Tiny plastic coatings from farm fertilizers are quietly reshaping the mystery of “missing plastics” in the ocean.
Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct drainage from fields to the sea sends far more plastic back onto shore. Once there, waves and tides briefly trap the particles on beaches before many vanish again. This helps explain why so much plastic pollution seems to disappear after reaching the ocean.
That sounds like another problem that could be reduced with a ban on using plastic to make microbeads.
Tiny plastic coatings from farm fertilizers are quietly reshaping the mystery of “missing plastics” in the ocean.
Plastic-coated fertilizers used on farms are emerging as a major but hidden source of ocean microplastics. A new study found that only a tiny fraction reaches beaches through rivers, while direct drainage from fields to the sea sends far more plastic back onto shore. Once there, waves and tides briefly trap the particles on beaches before many vanish again. This helps explain why so much plastic pollution seems to disappear after reaching the ocean.
That sounds like another problem that could be reduced with a ban on using plastic to make microbeads.
