Investigating the involvement of plastic in the agriculture industry in the Maltese Islands

Abstract

In the last few years, online news portals and social media helped to raise awareness on the negative long-term environmental impacts brought about by the use of plastics. The general public, including politicians, responded well and we can now see a paradigm shift towards a lifestyle with minimum plastic use. Unfortunately, promotional campaigns always target end-users and consumers. So far, there are no studies that investigate the use of plastics in the environment itself to grow crops. The main aim of this research is to study agriculture plastic waste in Malta, and its disposal patterns. Following a review of existing literature on the topic, a survey with farmers who part-take in agricultural activities, was carried out. This, to better understand the traits and trends on plastic disposal in the local sector. Additionally, site audits were carried out to quantify the plastic waste produced on-site. Such an approach helped to collect data that address the knowledge gap identified during the preliminary stage of this study. Interviews with stakeholders were also carried out to discuss existing waste policies and any strategies that are planned to help tackle this problem. Following analysis of the collected data, a number of research methods were adopted to help identify traits related to the industry. The main agricultural plastic waste in Malta was found to be related to irrigation pipes and mulching that are linked to the local climate and the crops grown respectively. At the moment, there are no policies or strategies that target the collection, reuse, or recycling of agricultural plastic waste. The survey helped to indicate that farmers generally dispose of the material at the Civic Amenity sites and ultimately, get diverted to the landfill. Disposal of plastic waste through incineration and ploughing, was also found to be common. This study succeeds in addressing the research gap, which concerns the typical generation of agricultural plastic waste, and the trends related to the disposal patterns, by local farmers.