Macro- and microplastics in Austrian composts | Makro- und Mikrokunststoffe in österreichischen Komposten
2020
Zafiu, Christian | Binner, Erwin | Hirsch, Cornelia | Vay, Benedikt | Huber-Humer, Marion
In this study nine composts from three state-of-the-art composting plants in Austria were investigated for macro- and microplastics in a size range of 10–0.63 mm. In all investigated composts 111–13 plastic particles per kg DM were found. Transferred to Austria, the data resulted in an annual micro-plastic emissions rate ranging from 0.6 to 111 g per capita, which were mainly caused by the fragmentation of macroplastic impurities during the composting of biogenic waste. The contamination consisted mainly of common packaging plastics, with polyolefins accounting for the largest share of up to 77%. The investigation of a windrow during composting showed that the particle number and its size distribution can change during the rotting process. Seasonal changes in the input material also show great variations. The greatest reduction was achieved during factory screening, which also removed particles that were much smaller than the mesh size (due to unintended adherence effects), with heavy particles in particular being removed.
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