Roughly 135,500 tonnes of plastic waste is generated by farms each year, according to the Chartered Institute of Waste Management. But these old figures may well be an underestimate since there’s no mandatory reporting. Plastic usage on farms may only account for 2 per cent of all the plastic used in the UK, but from there it can leach into our food system – polluting water, soil, crops, and harming animals.
Farming’s big plastic problem – and emerging solutions
A study of soil taken from 100 British farms found microplastic contamination at every site
