Several governments have focused on marine plastic pollution. Implementing and monitoring a global agreement requires concrete commitments, technical and financial support, national, regional, and international transparency and data sharing, and strengthening action by organizations and/or individuals, as well as coordination with existing treaties. Reducing virgin plastic production and consumption (Goal 1: Reduce); facilitating a circular plastic economy based on waste hierarchy principles (Goal 2: Reuse – Repair – Recycle); and reducing plastic pollution are among the goals of an international agreement. Reducing plastic pollution requires regular reporting. Monitoring and analyzing plastic pollution is crucial to ensuring reduction strategies are effective (Walker et al., 2021). It’s important to monitor and assess plastic pollution locally, nationally, and regionally. Global agreements are possible if they involve industry, governments, stakeholders, and citizens, yet most negotiations take at least two years and realistically implementation much longer. Any convention usually takes around eight to ten years, especially because countries’ legal systems need to be harmonized. The review article concludes in the hope that negotiations at UNEA 5.2 will kickstart a new global plastic pollution agreement.
The current study examines the contamination of microplastics in three greenhouse types: abandoned, normal, and simple. The findings revealed that the abundance of microplastics was found to be the highest in the abandoned greenhouse, followed by the normal greenhouse and simple greenhouse. The mean abundance of microplastic organic fertilizer and irrigation water was also high.[…]
The study examines the distribution of residual film after eight years of film mulching in mid-April 2018. Results from the study revealed that eight years of mulching significantly increased the quantity of agricultural mulch film residues in the soil. The size of residual film fragments was found to vary from 0.25 cm2 to 109 cm2,[…]
A study in Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province, investigated microplastic pollution in different land uses, including facility farmland, traditional farmland, orchard, grassland, and woodland. Results showed a significant difference in microplastic abundance and characteristics between different land use types. Facility farmlands, traditional farmlands, and orchard lands had higher microplastic abundance than grasslands and woodlands. The main[…]
The study analysed 225 soil samples from maize planting zones in northern China, revealing that long-term plastic film mulching increases microplastic pollution in agricultural soils. The abundance of microplastics was significantly higher in mulched soils (754 ± 477 items kg-1) than in non-mulched soils (376 ± 149 items kg-1). The length of time with film[…]
The study examined the relative abundances and morphological distributions of microplastics (MPs) in water, sediments, and farmland soils in the Caohai Lake region. The estuary in the study area was considered a potential sink for MP transportation. Transparent and black MPs accounted for a large proportion of MPs in the five environments, with possible sources[…]