Researchers at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) are seeking farmers to take part in a farm plastics management project.

DkIT researcher Clodagh King told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Farmers are uniquely placed and important contributors for this study as they have hands on experience with plastics and can give a clear picture of the factors surrounding their use in Irish farming.”

King explains: “The aim of the research is to understand the main uses of plastics in agriculture and how Irish farmers manage it. We want to know which plastic disposal methods are used, how easy it is to dispose of them, and what are the barriers preventing the recycling of farm plastics in Ireland.

Microplastics

The researchers have created a survey as part of their research project titled Agcumulate: a study on the accumulation of microplastics in soils and terrestrial ecosystems. The project is currently being conducted within the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies (CFES).

“Currently there is very little known about the accumulation of microplastics in soils, specifically in agricultural soils. There is no evidence to suggest that microplastics are accumulating in Irish agricultural soils, however, there have been some studies published over the last year or two on the accumulation of microplastics in agricultural soils globally,” King said.

Survey

Farmers are asked to complete a short survey, which does not require the consultation of any farm records.

King continued: “We hope that the answers farmers provide can build a greater understanding of real world scenarios. We want to gain an insight into the opinions of farmers in relation to farm plastics, and gain understanding of the challenges surrounding the storage and management costs associated with their use.

To view the survey, click here or email clodagh.king@dkit.ie.

Read more

New scheme to pay farmers to re-wet peatland this year

Farmers key to climate and flood solutions – UL researcher