Page 43 - Plastics News Issue June 2025
P. 43
FEATURE NEWS
Plastic in every level of
food web, say scientists
Polyester, commonly shed from clothing, was
the most frequently detected plastic type.
Lead researcher Emily Thrift, from the University
of Sussex, said the findings were "surprising and
deeply concerning".
"This is the first study to find plastics consistent-
ly turning up across an entire community of land
invertebrates," she said.
lastic pollution is now contaminating in-
sects at the base of terrestrial food "Similar plastic types have previously been found
Pchains, raising fresh concerns about the in hedgehog faeces and appear to be entering
long-term impact on wildlife, according to a new the diet of birds, mammals and reptiles via their
study by the Universities of Sussex and Exeter. invertebrate prey."
Researchers have discovered fragments of plas- The research team warned that plastic pollution
tic in the stomachs of beetles, slugs, snails and should no longer be seen as solely a marine is-
earthworms, with the pollutants making their sue.
way up the food chain to birds, mammals and The team said the chemicals released by de-
reptiles.
grading plastics in soil pose serious risks to bio-
The study, described as the most comprehen- diversity, with previous studies linking ingestion
sive of its kind, analysed more than 580 inverte- of plastic to stunted growth, organ damage and
brate samples from 51 sites across Sussex. reduced fertility in animals.
Prof Fiona Mathews, an environmental biologist Herbivores and decomposers – such as worms
at the University of Sussex, said microplastics and slugs – were found to be the most heavily
were now "ubiquitous at every level of the food contaminated.
web".
However, carnivorous insects like ladybirds were
A food web is a complex network made up of all also affected, often ingesting larger plastic parti-
of the food chains in an ecosystem. cles through their prey.
Microplastics were detected in nearly 12% of Co-author of the study Prof Tamara Galloway,
specimens, with earthworms showing the high- from the University of Exeter, said: "To reduce
est contamination rate at 30%, followed by slugs the uptake of microplastics into the food web we
and snails at 24%, said the university. first have to understand how it is getting there.
June 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 43
