French farmland tainted by widespread microplastic pollution, study finds

Plastic mulch, agricultural films and wastewater irrigation are among the practices that may contribute to soil contamination. © Wikimedia/CC

French researchers have found microplastics in more than three-quarters of agricultural soil samples tested across the country, raising fresh concerns about plastic pollution beyond the oceans.

While a number of studies have already focused on how microplastics contaminate the oceans, we know far less about the extent to which they pollute the soil.