Photo: Flickr | UNEP
The global website states that plastic pollution has been seeping into every corner of the world for decades, “leaching into the water we drink, the food we eat, and our bodies”.
It stated there was growing scientific evidence of the impact of plastic pollution, and aimed to this year to drive momentum to “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink plastic use”.
When it comes to agriculture, the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center stated that plastics were widely used in agriculture.
Researchers Dr Pamela Lein and Donald A Bruun wrote in an article that farmers used macroplastics in the form of sacks and bottles, protective wraps around mulch and fodder, as cover for greenhouses, to shield crops, or to make irrigation tubes.
Microplastics were used in agrochemical industries, including “microencapsulation techniques to coat pesticides and fertilisers”, amongst others.
The authors wrote that while plastic provided many benefits, there were concerns over risks as it broke down over time and entered the soil.
“Micro- and nanoplastics in the soil can also adsorb and concentrate persistent organic pollutants (like PCBs and PFAS), toxic metals (mercury, lead, and others), and pesticides.
“This can facilitate the transfer of these pollutants through ecosystems and enhance bioaccumulation.”
In South Africa, one of the organisations involved in removal of harmful plastic used by farmers was Croplife South Africa.
Gerhard Verdoorn, stewardship and operations manager for Croplife South Africa, told Farmer’s Weekly that the organisation was making good progress in removing used chemical and pesticide containers.
He said they collected used containers, including bags, bottles, tubs and liners, from farmers. These were then put through a cleansing process before they were shredded, melted, pelleted and remade into materials that could be further re-used, such as in the manufacture of recycled plastic furniture, as an example.
Verdoorn said they focused on four types of plastic, namely high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which includes 1l to 25l white or blue plastic containers; low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is a clear film used as lining for paper; polypropylene (PP), which is used in the manufacturing of bags or tubs; and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), which is used to manufacture thin, ready-to-use bottles.
In their most recent statistics, Verdoorn said they had managed to recover 73,3% of HDPE containers dispatched to market, 100% of LDPE and nearly 50% of PP products.
“PET remains a problem child with recovery only at 18%,” he said.
The PET plastics were also especially problematic in the post-consumer recycling process as those that previously contained products like pesticides could not be mixed with food grade plastics during recycling. Verdoorn said authorities were aiming to phase out the use of PET for pesticides and certain chemicals by the end of this year.
Verdoorn said there were about 70 000t per month of HDPE containers that were still not being recovered, and said there was insufficient recovery of PP bags especially.
“These bags (the same as those used for feed bags) break down into micro-plastics when left out in the sun. Once this gets into the soil, you can’t get rid of it,” he said, adding there was good market demand for the flexible PP for recycling.
Verdoorn said the recycling of these containers was essential as they did not want them ending up on landfill sites. He said plastics were causing environmental pollution that was going all the way down to deep marine levels.
In South Africa
South Africa would mark World Environment Day by celebrating the launch of its Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Response Plan (CARP). The initiative would be launched by Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George.
According to a statement, CARP was South Africa’s first sector-specific climate adaptation plan dedicated to climate resilience.
It had been developed in alignment with the Climate Change Act (No. 22 of 2024), the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, and international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. George was also expected to visit a plastic recycling centre in Gauteng.
The World Environment Day observations came in the run-up to the next session of the UN Environment Assembly where it was hoped the world would come one step closer to establishing a global treaty to end plastic pollution. The next session was scheduled to take place from 5 to 14 August 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.
