Deliverable 3.1: Report on the typology of farms and their plastic practices in the CSS; feedback and expectations of stakeholders

Summary in the original language of the document

This report corresponds to Deliverable 3.1 – Report on the typology of farms and their plastic practices in the CSS; feedback and expectations of stakeholders. It covers two main topics: general inventory of plastics used in agriculture in Europe and typification of the CSS based on farm surveys.
One of the objectives of the MINAGRIS project is to provide a comprehensive overview of plastic (un)intentional use and the resulting micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in soils through monitoring in several carefully chosen Case Study Sites (CSS) across Europe. In line with this specific objective, the aim of WP3 is to provide deep insights in the amount and type of plastics found in soil and the source of these plastics. This will be achieved through a series of specific tasks, amongst which: to provide an inventory on sales and use of plastic in agriculture at the EU-scale (T3.1), and to estimate input and output of plastic containing sources at farm level based on the CSS farmers survey (T3.2).
This deliverable report aims to summarize available information in the early stages of the project relevant for decision making regarding further activities in the MINAGRIS project. The report consists of two main parts. The first part provides a summary of available public information on the use of plastics in agriculture in Europe, including sources for possible unintentional input of plastics through agricultural practices. In the second part, the results of the survey amongst individual farms in 11 CSS across Europe are consolidated to provide an overview of the typology of farms and their plastic practices in the CSS.