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In 2018 more than 343 million tonnes of plastic waste were generated, 90% of which was composed of post-consumer plastic waste (industrial, agricultural, commercial and municipal plastic waste). The rest was pre-consumer waste from resin production and manufacturing of plastic products (e.g. materials rejected due to unsuitable colour, hardness ...
According to the waste hierarchy, burning agricultural waste for the sake of energy generation is a less environmentally friendly treatment method than recycling or reusing it. Moreover, incineration for energy generation can be done once, while consumer goods (such as paper made from agricultural waste) can be recycled another seven times. [ 26 ]
He later switched this to a more effective polyethylene film. After this introduction of plastic film to agriculture it began being used at a larger scale around the world by the early 1950s to replace paper for mulching vegetables. [4] By 1999 almost 30 million acres worldwide were covered in plastic mulch.
Plasticulture is the use of plastic mulch in agriculture. Farmers use plastic sheets as mulch to cover 50-70% of the soil and allow them to use drip irrigation systems to have better control over soil nutrients and moisture. Rain is not required in this system, and farms that use plasticulture are built to encourage the fastest runoff of rain.
The long-term effects of plastics in the food chain are poorly understood. In 2009 it was estimated that 10% of modern waste was plastic, [58] although estimates vary according to region. [57] Meanwhile, 50% to 80% of debris in marine areas is plastic. [57] Plastic is often used in agriculture. There is more plastic in the soil than in the oceans.
Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Recycling can reduce dependence on landfill , conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 6 January 2025. Converting waste materials into new products This article is about recycling of waste materials. For recycling of waste energy, see Energy recycling. "Recycled" redirects here. For the album, see Recycled (Nektar album). The three chasing arrows of the universal recycling symbol Municipal ...
According to a 2005 report by the USDA, more than 335–million tons of "dry matter" waste (the waste after water is removed) is produced annually on farms in the United States. [62] Animal feeding operations produce about 100 times more manure than the amount of human sewage sludge processed in US municipal waste water plants each year.