Microplastic Contamination of Agricultural Land in France

On December 26, the French Agency for Ecological Transformation (AFET) released a study showing that microplastics were detected in 25 out of 33 (76%) soil samples collected from agricultural land in France, with an average of 15 microplastic particles per kilogram of dry soil. This study is the first to systematically assess the extent of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils in France and shows that the presence of microplastics in soils is widespread and that further research is urgently needed to identify the sources of the contamination.