Microplastics: Pollution Control

(asked on 9th July 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on preventing microplastics from infiltrating agricultural land.


Answered by
Emma Hardy Portrait
Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 22nd July 2025

There are several potential ways in which microplastics which can infiltrate agricultural land and the wider environment. These include fallout from the atmosphere, land connections with surface waters and industrial premises, leaks from septic tanks and landfill sites, and possible leaching from the application of treated sewage sludge to agricultural soils. Once microplastics have entered the soil, many factors will influence their movement, such as soil type, the type of crop and the presence of livestock.

To better understand the transmission of microplastics through the application to the land of sewage sludge containing biosolids, Defra officials are collaborating with industry and independent researchers under the water industry-funded Chemicals Investigation Programme. This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate microplastics in the environment. We discuss the progress of this work on a frequent basis.

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