{"id":44514,"date":"2026-07-01T11:58:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T09:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/articles\/bioplastiche-compostabili-suolo\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T17:58:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:58:33","slug":"compostable-bioplastics-soil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/en\/circular-bioeconomy\/compostable-bioplastics-soil\/","title":{"rendered":"Compostable bioplastic residues do not accumulate in soil"},"content":{"rendered":"

An international study fills one of the major scientific knowledge gaps surrounding compostable bioplastics. Any microfragments that may remain after industrial composting do not persist in the soil but continue to biodegrade thanks to microbial activity<\/h2>\n

by Emanuele Isonio<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What happens to biodegradable plastic residues<\/strong> that may remain after the industrial composting<\/strong> of compostable packaging? This has been one of the most debated questions in recent years, especially after some studies detected microscopic fragments in compost produced from the treatment of organic waste.<\/p>\n

Now a new study<\/a>, conducted by researchers from the Universities of Montpellier and Paris-Saclay in collaboration with Michigan State University, provides an important answer: biodegradable microplastics that may remain in compost are not destined to persist in soil but continue their biodegradation process<\/strong> even after the compost is applied to agricultural land.<\/p>\n

This finding strengthens the scientific evidence<\/strong> on the role of compostable packaging within the circular bioeconomy and, above all, on its relationship with soil health.<\/p>\n

\"Sintesi

Residual biodegradable microplastics derived from compostable packaging under large-scale industrial composting fully degrade in soil. SOURCE: Heick Abou Coulibaly, Sandra Domenek, Paul Greuet, Matthieu George, Pascale Fabre, Rafael Auras, Emmanuelle Gastaldi.<\/p><\/div>\n

A study that addresses a key question<\/h5>\n

The issue is far from marginal. The organic fraction accounts for more than one third of European municipal waste<\/strong>. With the mandatory separate collection of biowaste introduced in 2024, composting and anaerobic digestion are set to play an increasingly important role in waste management and in the production of soil amendments<\/a> for agricultural soils.<\/p>\n

Composting transforms separately collected organic waste into compost, a valuable soil amendment<\/strong> that returns organic matter to agricultural land, improving soil fertility, structure and water-holding capacity.<\/p>\n

Increasingly, certified compostable packaging<\/strong> is collected together with food waste. These technological solutions are specifically designed to follow the same biological pathway as organic waste and therefore make it easier for citizens to separately collect the organic fraction of municipal waste.<\/p>\n

Previous studies had already shown that these materials disintegrate during industrial composting. However, one question remained unanswered: do the microscopic fragments that may remain represent a permanent accumulation, or are they simply an intermediate stage in the biodegradation process<\/strong>? This is precisely the issue addressed by the new research.<\/p>\n

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SOUL project gets started, five EU countries will test new bio-based products<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n