Reuse of Agricultural Plastic Waste, Circular Economy

Today plastics are an omnipresent material in almost every nook and corner, reaching a critical level of usage. Since plastic have invaded every moment of our life, huge amount of plastic litter is produced. Agricultural sector do not remain indifferent to this worldwide issue, as long as the widespread use of plastic in agriculture has many benefits to farmers such as:

– longer growing seasons

– reduction of herbicide and pesticide consumption

– shorten fertilizer consumption due to improved efficiency of nutrient assimilation by plants

-protection against weather phenomena

All these benefits that the use of agricultural plastics brings to agriculture translate into great savings and greater profitability. Also, the use of agricultural plastic products helps farmers adapt to climate change and align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the current Community Agricultural Policy.

However, plastic materials suffers an inherent issue with their nature related to its degradation into micro and nano plastics which easily move between different environmental systems, entering the air, soil and water.

In this context, the use of plastics has been incorporated into the sector as a useful tool increasing its use exponentially in recent years. Nonetheless, today there is no comprehensive international policy or legislative instruments that cover all aspects of plastic use in agri-food value chains and throughout their life cycle. This, together with the lack of sustainable management thereof, this course will take you along for a deep dive into a new life cycle of agricultural plastic.

In the following module you will learn how to correctly handle agricultural plastic waste so that it can be revalued through a sustainable and circular high-value solution.

No specific knowledge is needed to successfully finish this course.