Newsletter no. 7
reports on two very popular events in the realm of NETmicroplastic that took place this summer: At the Kinder Uni Tulln, we engaged with a young generation of future researchers, and at the Tulln International Horticultural Fair NETmicroplastic’s major theme was brought to a wide audience interested in horticulture and home gardening. We also present some prominent research projects related to NETmicroplastic that are new or ongoing. Finally, we would like to draw your attention to some upcoming events, in particular the well-received web dialogue series in which NETmicroplastic will host two webinars. We cordially invite you to join the webinar on 23 October, focusing on microplastics in agriculture, for which registration is now open. Then, we encourage you to meet NETmicroplastic at the European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin or online, later in December.
NETmicroplastic inspires enthusiastic young researchers at the Kinder Uni Tulln
As usual during the summer school holidays, AIT in Tulln hosted the Kinder UNI Tulln 2024, a week of discovery and experimentation for children aged eight to twelve. The NETmicroplastic team organised the hands-on workshop “Microplastics in agricultural systems”. Claudia Preininger explained to the children how plastic that ends up on agricultural fields, for example through compost or agricultural tools, breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces under the influence of weather and soil organisms and is transported into deeper soil layers. A particular highlight for the children was the production of a biodegradable plastic film, which the young researchers made themselves as part of the workshop. Marlies Polt explains: “We want to give the children not only theoretical knowledge, but also the opportunity to become active in the laboratory themselves”. The workshop gave the children an exciting insight into the world of soil organisms and explained the production, labelling and degradation of plastics in soil, as well as demonstrating plastic tools and their use in agriculture. The children were also given the opportunity to do their own research, experiment and be creative.
“Internationale Gartenbaumesse Tulln” – Karl Ploberger explains how to avoid (micro)plastics in the home garden
The Tulln International Horticultural Fair is one of the most important events for garden professionals and hobby gardeners in Austria and beyond. At this year’s fair, 450 exhibitors showcased everything to do with gardens and plants across 85,000 square metres. On the opening day, 29 August, the popular ORF gardener Karl Ploberger presented a one-hour show, organised by the Bündnis Mikroplastikfrei, on how to avoid microplastic pollution of the soil by using various specific gardening tools. The event included an extensive question and answer session with the audience. Karl Ploberger was well received by the audience and also gave practical tips on biological pest control. These methods generally contain fewer polymeric materials used to encapsulate or coat active ingredients, and the components are generally biodegradable in the soil.
Research projects tackling microplastics in soil
Here we present two ERC grants (MiCoS and NanoSoil), a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship (PlastiGut), the Dutch MASTER project, and the EU project SOILPROM, all centred around NETmicroplastic’s key themes.
The MiCoS ERC project addresses microplastic pollution in agricultural soil ecosystems and its impact on soil and plant health. Soil plastic pollution will be assessed by correlating microplastic (MP) concentrations with soil health indicators. These correlations will be validated and tested in greenhouse experiments to gain insight into the underlying biological processes. In addition, the project will actively search for biodegrading organisms to reduce the risk of MPs in soil ecosystems. The NanoSoil ERC project applies a recently developed methodology using FFF and pyrolysis gas chromatography to quantify submicron plastics in soil samples from agricultural fields with established plastic input pathways for conventional and biodegradable plastics. Plant uptake of plastics is assessed for a range of representative crops. These data will serve as a basis for future studies on the environmental fate and ecotoxicology of plastics, as well as for a comprehensive risk assessment.
The PlastiGut project uses a multi-scale approach to investigate the fate and degradation of plastics in the gut of xylophagous insect larvae. This includes the use of stable isotope probing, sequencing analysis and plastic degradation using carbon-13-labelled plastics. The aim is to identify novel plastic-degrading microorganisms and enzymes that could potentially help reduce plastic pollution.
The MASTER project, funded by the Dutch Research Council (NOW), addresses the crucial questions of how microplastics affect soil structure and how plastic is transported with runoff and erosion. This is currently being investigated through laboratory experiments, field monitoring, and modelling to predict MP transport on agricultural fields.
Modelling is also a key focus of the EU-funded SOILPROM project, coordinated by Wageningen University, which just started in September. The SOILPROM project will use sophisticated digital tools to investigate the impact of soil contaminants, including metals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), nutrients, microplastics and pesticides, on soil, air, water, and plants. Using both existing European databases and local datasets collected according to the requirements of DestinE and EUSO, the 12 project partners will improve, integrate and validate existing soil pollution models under field conditions in six different use cases. The improved and integrated models will be made available via an open-access modelling platform for scientists, including a decision support tool for practitioners. Particular emphasis will be placed on quantifying ecosystem services and the associated impacts of local policies and practices, with the aim of developing scenarios.
Upcoming NETmicroplastic activities
Webdialog: Kunststoffeinsatz im Ackerbau
23.10.2024 | 16:30 – 17:30 Uhr | Online, registration open
Webdialog: Kunststoffeinsatz im Obst- und Weinbau
03.12.2024 | t.b.d. | Online
Bündnis Mikroplastikfrei, in cooperation with AIT and the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture, is organising two webinars this autumn as part of the web dialogue series. The two webinars (in German) will both deal with the use of plastics in agriculture, with a focus on arable farming on 23 October and on viticulture and fruit growing on 3 December.
In the upcoming web dialogue in October, entitled “Kunststoffeinsatz im Ackerbau”, Gabriele Moder (Easy-Cert) will provide information on the evaluation of biodegradable materials in organic farming and Markus Hillebrand (LV Stmk.) will report on the use of biodegradable mulch films on his own farm.
To join the event and take part in the discussion, please register here: Webdialog – Anmeldung (easy-feedback.de)
Participation is free of charge.
EBC 24, Berlin and online, 10/11 December 2024
It is our pleasure to present NETmicroplastic at the European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin on the 10th and 11th of December. The European Bioplastics Conference, organized by our NETmicroplastic partner European Bioplastics e.V. is Europe’s leading business and discussion forum within the global bioplastics sector. It provides an opportunity to network with key decision makers from across the bioplastics value chain, as well as policy makers, leading research institutes, NGOs, and brand owners. The conference programme covers the latest developments in bio-based and biodegradable materials and applications, bioplastics processing, end-of-life, sustainability, and policy, and can be downloaded here: Programme – European Bioplastics e.V. (european-bioplastics.org).
