Issued by 2026 Magazine

The plastisphere – a journey from soil to human health

Science

Author : Edoardo Puglisi, Full Professor of Agricultural Microbiology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Italy), Esperanza Huerta Lwanga, PhD, Research Associate, Wageningen University (Netherlands), Deborah Talbot, PhD, Writer and Research Communications Specialist, University of Gloucestershire (UK)

We have heard much in recent years about the impact of microplastics on the environment, and there is a growing body of science aiming to understand how they affect soil, animal and human health. While there are advantages of using plastics in farming and food production concerns are rising because of their negative externalities. What follows is just some of what researchers from MINAGRIS (MIcro- and Nano-plastics in AGRIcultural Soils) have found.

A matter of size

Plastics and biobased plastics are known to fragment into smaller and smaller particles, leading to the formation of microplastics (MPs, between 5 cm and 1μm) and nanoplastics ( (<1μm) that can cross cellular barriers in plants, animals and humans. In the MINAGRIS project we have conducted controlled experiments where different plastics (Low-density polyethylene (LPDE), Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT), and 20-30% starch-based) were buried in agriculture soils for 18 months.

Results indicated very small changes in the structure of the plastics and their disaggregation into smaller sizes. We also found that fragmentation and degradation were coupled with the release and leaching in the soil of derivatives and additives whose identity is not always known and that are most probably related to many toxicological and ecotoxicological hazards.

Microplastics and chemicals interact

The small sizes of fragmented plastics also pose another threat, as they act as possible carriers of other chemicals such as pesticides and antibiotics. In MINAGRIS we have tested in a number of lab-to-field experiments on different European soils on the interactions between different plastics with pesticides (pyraclostrobin) and veterinary drugs (albendazole) at doses that can be commonly found in agricultural soils.

Overall, the results indicate several detrimental effects of all plastics on soil quality parameters and crops physiology, depending on time of exposure, type of plastic and applied dose. It was also found in several cases that microplastics and related pollutants increase significantly the presence and abundance of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) genes. Our findings align with a consensus in the literature that plastic pollution can increase the diffusion of AMR, a global health concern.

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