Can the use of plastic be made sustainable?

Very interested podcast on the most pressing question: “Can the use of plastic products in agriculture be made sustainable?”, featuring Richard H. Thompson and Kristina Thygesen.

Richard H. Thompson is an independent chemicals and waste consultant and a co-author of the 2021 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) titled: “Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability: A call to action.”

Kristina Thygesen is a senior expert at Grid-Arendal and authored the 2021 UNEP working paper: “Plastics in agriculture: sources and impacts.” These works represent the seminal documents through which the international community recognized and started addressing the problem of plastic pollution in agroecosystems.

Agricultural plastics and circularity of organic waste are emerging among the options available today for promoting efficient and reliable food production. However, it is urgent to determine how to deploy these strategies in a sustainable way while preventing pollution. Both benefits and problems concerning plastic in agriculture are highlighted in this podcast. Greenhouses, mulching films, protection nets, and so on : global agriculture produces 12 million tons of plastic waste every year, with a substantial fraction probably undergoing some form of mismanagement.

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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101000210