Cultivating Plastic

Summary

The use of plastics in agriculture (commonly known as ‘agriplastics’) only accounts for 3.5 per cent of annual global plastic usage. However, their design, use and the pollution they cause are devastating and extend far beyond farmland

Their use can create essential short-term abundance, but are also creating mid- to long-term scarcity of the very same produce. Disentangling the solutions to all of this will require multiple measures and approaches.

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%

Global plastic usage

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Million tonnes

Agriplastic used per year

Summary

The use of plastics in agriculture (commonly known as ‘agriplastics’) only accounts for 3.5 per cent of annual global plastic usage. However, their design, use and the pollution they cause are devastating and extend far beyond farmland

Their use can create essential short-term abundance, but are also creating mid- to long-term scarcity of the very same produce. Disentangling the solutions to all of this will require multiple measures and approaches.

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%

Global plastic usage

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Million tonnes

Agriplastic used per year

What are agriplastics?

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Protective cultivation films

Greenhouses, high/low tunnels, plastic film placed on top of soil aka mulching, nursery films, direct covering and covering vineyards and orchards.

Piping, irrigation / drainage

Water reservoir, channel lining, irrigation tapes and pipes, drainage pipes, micro-irrigation, drippers.

Fertiliser

Slow-release, protective seed coatings.

Nets

Anti-hail, anti-bird, wind-breaking, shading.

Packaging

Fertiliser sacks, agrochemical cans, containers, tanks for liquid storage, crates.

Other

Silage films, fumigation films, bale twines, bale wraps, nursery pots, strings and ropes, boxes, fittings, spray cones, tapes.

Unintentionally added

Compost, sludge / slurry.

What are agriplastics?

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Protective cultivation films

Greenhouses, high/low tunnels, plastic film placed on top of soil aka mulching, nursery films, direct covering and covering vineyards and orchards.

Piping, irrigation / drainage

Water reservoir, channel lining, irrigation tapes and pipes, drainage pipes, micro-irrigation, drippers.

Fertiliser

Slow-release, protective seed coatings.

Nets

Anti-hail, anti-bird, wind-breaking, shading.

Packaging

Fertiliser sacks, agrochemical cans, containers, tanks for liquid storage, crates.

Other

Silage films, fumigation films, bale twines, bale wraps, nursery pots, strings and ropes, boxes, fittings, spray cones, tapes.

Unintentionally added

Compost, sludge / slurry.

Agriplastics explainers

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Agriplastics explainers

Watch our short video

Listen to our podcast

The UK food supply chain

In 2021, the UK had a ‘self-sufficiency ratio’ of 60 per cent, meaning it is largely self-sufficient in domestic production of grain, some meats, eggs, milk and potatoes, but only produced 54 per cent of the fresh vegetables and 16 per cent of the fruit it consumed in 2021.

The UK supply chain is international and driving agroplastic use and pollution across the world.

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The UK food supply chain

In 2021, the UK had a ‘self-sufficiency ratio’ of 60 per cent, meaning it is largely self-sufficient in domestic production of grain, some meats, eggs, milk and potatoes, but only produced 54 per cent of the fresh vegetables and 16 per cent of the fruit it consumed in 2021.

The UK supply chain is international and driving agroplastic use and pollution across the world.

[ Mouseover or tap buttons for more information ]

Fields of Plastic

The scale and use of plastics in global agriculture and their impacts on the environment in terms of pollution.

Fields of Plastic

The scale and use of plastics in global agriculture and their impacts on the environment in terms of pollution.

Impacts of agriplastic use

Environmental and human health impacts

Published literature to date clearly outlines the widespread severity of this form of pollution as a result of agriplastic use and application to mismanagement at end of life. Another critical facet is the impact such pollution can have on human health, especially those of workers in close contact with agriplastics at end-of-life.

Mismanagement and criminality of agriplastic waste

In the absence of clear routes for disposal and recycling, agriplastics are then mismanaged, with demonstrable examples of agriplastics used throughout the UK food supply chain being dumped, burnt or illegally exported (and then likely dumped, landfilled or incinerated in recipient countries). Mismanagement and criminality of agriplastic waste further compounds the environmental and human health impacts they have.

Potential agriplastic alternatives and caution

As awareness of the issues around agriplastics use are growing, so too is the search for and adoption of alternative products or agricultural methods. However, certain solutions are not without their own environmental impacts and these issues must be addressed before widespread uptake occurs to mitigate the sector locking in further harmful production models.

Impacts of agriplastic use

Environmental and human health impacts

Published literature to date clearly outlines the widespread severity of this form of pollution as a result of agriplastic use and application to mismanagement at end of life. Another critical facet is the impact such pollution can have on human health, especially those of workers in close contact with agriplastics at end-of-life.

Mismanagement and criminality of agriplastic waste

In the absence of clear routes for disposal and recycling, agriplastics are then mismanaged, with demonstrable examples of agriplastics used throughout the UK food supply chain being dumped, burnt or illegally exported (and then likely dumped, landfilled or incinerated in recipient countries). Mismanagement and criminality of agriplastic waste further compounds the environmental and human health impacts they have.

Potential agriplastic alternatives and caution

As awareness of the issues around agriplastics use are growing, so too is the search for and adoption of alternative products or agricultural methods. However, certain solutions are not without their own environmental impacts and these issues must be addressed before widespread uptake occurs to mitigate the sector locking in further harmful production models.

EIA grocery retailer agriplastics survey

Supermarkets are far and away the biggest final distributors of food and drink to the UK public, as well as collectively being the largest buyers of produce in the country. With so much purchasing power in the marketplace, how and what they source can be deciding factors in either hindering or enabling progressive agricultural practices – a significant responsibility.

Key takeaways from the survey conducted in 2023

EIA grocery retailer agriplastics survey

Supermarkets are far and away the biggest final distributors of food and drink to the UK public, as well as collectively being the largest buyers of produce in the country. With so much purchasing power in the marketplace, how and what they source can be deciding factors in either hindering or enabling progressive agricultural practices – a significant responsibility.

Key takeaways from the survey conducted in 2023

All supermarkets we surveyed recognise the need for action

As of 2022, the UK grocery retail sector has yet to establish measurable objectives, sourcing policies led by supermarkets and adequate funding for solutions to the plastics crisis.

However, all the supermarkets EIA surveyed acknowledge the need for a sector-wide initiative dedicated to agriplastic pollution and, overall, more of them now require certain suppliers to follow third-party certification standards than when we first surveyed them.

Despite a noticeable increase in awareness, projects and trials, these initiatives are not matched by concrete action nor are they supported by Government policy.

All supermarkets we surveyed recognise the need for action

As of 2022, the UK grocery retail sector has yet to establish measurable objectives, sourcing policies led by supermarkets and adequate funding for solutions to the plastics crisis.

However, all the supermarkets EIA surveyed acknowledge the need for a sector-wide initiative dedicated to agriplastic pollution and, overall, more of them now require certain suppliers to follow third-party certification standards than when we first surveyed them.

Despite a noticeable increase in awareness, projects and trials, these initiatives are not matched by concrete action nor are they supported by Government policy.

Conclusions and recommendations

Grocery retailers may be profit-making entities, but their primary function is to deliver food to communities while working with their supply chains to ensure secure, sustainable and safe produce is delivered to market. Government policy should provide adequate safeguards with regards to agriculture ensuring the same.

We must act:

for farmers, growers and agricultural workers who operate in an agricultural system that drives the contamination and degradation of the very land and ecosystem services on which they depend for their livelihoods, in addition to putting their health at risk
for society, to no longer ignore the potential long-term toxicity and barrenness we are creating, given the deceptive convenience of agriplastics
for the environment and others living within it who are clearly negatively impacted by the production and use of agriplastics (and, more generally, plastics).