New research indicates that plastic pollution is adversely impacting Britain's ecosystem, with a significant portion of insects like slugs, beetles, and earthworms found to have ingested microplastics. Conducted by universities of Sussex and Exeter, the study revealed that over 10% of more than 580 examined bugs contained plastic fragments. Notably, earthworms exhibited the highest prevalence at 30%. The problem is exacerbated by agricultural practices, as some farmers use dried sewage sludge as fertilizer, which carries these harmful plastic fibres into the food chain.
Microplastics were found in almost 12 per cent of bugs with the highest levels recorded in earthworms (30 per cent) and slugs and snails (24 per cent).
Researchers suspected these plastic fibres came from dried human sewage sludge which is used as fertiliser by some farmers and can contain fibres from washing machines.
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