Piyoosh K Babele

Nanoplastic pollution is becoming a global environmental problem. However, over the past decade, the majority of nanoplastic research has been focused towards aquatic ecosystems, which is ironic because more nanoplastics have been found on land. These anthropogenic adulterants pollute the terrestrial ecosystem at a higher order of magnitude causing harmful effects to soil fertility, crop productivity, food security, and human health.

Plastic pollution has become one of the most tenacious environmental issues in recent years. Every year we produce around 400 million tons of plastic waste, approximately 85 per cent of which ends up in garbage dumps or as uncontrolled waste. Plastic pollution is most evident in developing Asian and African nations, where garbage collection and recycling systems are often absent or ineffective. Plastics are now ubiquitous in our natural environment; they undergo degradation and disintegration processes from the action of physical, chemical, and biological drivers in the ecosystem, resulting in Microplastics (MPs) and Nanoplastics (NPs). 

In contrast to MPs, NPs are distinct in size, shape, environmental reactivity, and absorption. They establish a bigger, yet immeasurable danger to every ecosystem and eventually human health. Soil and the terrestrial ecosystem are…read more on NOPR