Microplastics are everywhere on the planet and people ingest them every day – but science is still figuring out their long-term impact on human health.
Scientists are also examining the infiltration of microplastics into agricultural soils, their impact on soil organisms and insects and subsequent effect on crops and livestock.
Professor Davey Jones, the UK-based member of the SoilsWest team at Murdoch University, is leading a global study to address some of the gaps in knowledge on microplastic soil pollution.
The researchers have recently published a series of papers on the effects of plastic residues across soil ecosystems in the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India, Egypt and China.
They found the presence of microplastics at certain concentrations influenced soil wetting rates, plant height and root biomass, and body mass and reproduction rates in soil animals.
We have been conducting field and laboratory trials looking at how fast plastics degrade across the world.
Professor Jones
“As part of the global transect, we are now looking at plastic degradation in WA where the UV is really high, which speeds up microplastic formation. Our students are also looking at the environmental behaviour of chemicals added to plastics as we feel these pose the greatest risk to the environment.
“This research is ongoing and is trying to ascertain several things. In one sense, we are trying to work out what impact plastics have in the environment – particularly in relation to agricultural use - to find out how much agricultural pollution there actually is and how can we deal with it.
“On the flipside, we are also trying to understand how safe the new generation of biodegradable plastics are. The current evidence base is poor and it’s our view that they’re probably much better than conventional plastics but they’re not environmentally benign.”
Professor Jones holds a joint professorial appointment in Soil and Environmental Science at Murdoch University and Bangor University in Wales. He is currently in Perth to help establish the CSIRO-Murdoch University-industry Bioplastic Innovation Hub, which is based at Murdoch’s Rockingham campus.
Professor Daniel Murphy, interim Pro Vice Chancellor of Murdoch’s Food Futures Institute, said they had enjoyed a very successful working partnership with Professor Jones over many years.
“As well as the microplastics project, we collaborate with Professor Jones and his teams on soil carbon, nutrient cycling and ecosystem processes around the globe,” said Professor Murphy.
Professor Murphy and Associate Professor Frances Hoyle established SoilsWest – an alliance between universities and the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development - to promote research that supports healthy soils and sustainable food production.