Land

Land

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Litter and illegally dumped waste can severely impact land and land uses. For example, abnormal concentrations of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, nitrogen, solvents and gasoline can be toxic in soils, adversely affecting plant growth, soil microbial diversity and activity[6]. Even old mattresses can contain substances, such as formaldehyde, that can leach into soils.

In 2018 – 19, approximately 7,400 tonnes of tyres were illegally dumped in Australia, often in forests and isolated areas[2]. Tyres consist of carbon, steel and oil which can leach into soils. Car tyres can also shed plastic, often in the form of microplastics. The effects of leaching from dumped tyres are not well understood and require further investigation.

Cigarette butts continue to be the most littered item in Queensland. The Queensland Government commissioned comprehensive data collection and analysis of littered waste (other than cigarette butts) before and after the introduction of the the container refund scheme. Beverage containers, straws and takeaway containers were the most consistently littered items[1]. Soil contamination can also occur from e-waste products, and can impact plants, animals and water due to the presence of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and chromium[3].

The issue of microplastics in soils and other terrestrial systems continues to be addressed. There is evidence that soils may represent the largest global reservoirs of micro plastic, including nanoplastic[5]. This means that soils present many potential ways of exposing wildlife and humans to microplastics and nanoplastics.

Plastics in soil can come from many sources, including microplastics in waste water, microplastics that blow off landfill sites and mulched plastic on agricultural fields. A literature review reported that virtually all agricultural soils, (including arable lands, paddy lands, uplands, irrigation, and greenhouse soils), receive various sources of plastic contaminants[4]

References

1. ^ A. Prince (2020), 2020 Report: Queensland Department of Environment and Science Post Container Refund Scheme Litter Monitoring, AP Consulting Pty Ltd.
2. ^ GDTC, 'Just how many old tyres are there in Australia?', Just how many old tyres are there in Australia?. [online] Available at: https://www.gdtc6.com/just-many-old-tyres-australia/ [Accessed 1 October 2020].
3. ^ Handling E-Waste with care: prevention against e-pollution hazards via the 'Recycle-Reuse-Share-Repair' scheme In Brisbane, Australia. [online] Available at: https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/items/e76d1462-ba46-5f5b-8cd2-fa36df5780ca/full [Accessed 23 April 2025].
4. ^ Thompson, M (1983), The physiology and ecology of the eggs of the pleurodiran tortoise Emydura macquarii (Gray, 1831), Ph.D., University of Adelaide.
5. ^ Wahl, A, Juge, CL, Davranche, M, Hadri, HE, Grassl, B, Reynaud, S & Gigault, J (2021), 'Nanoplastic occurrence in a soil amended with plastic debris', Chemosphere. [online], vol. 262, p. 127784. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653520319792.
6. ^ Xie, Y, Fan, J, Zhu, W, Amombo, E, Lou, Y, Chen, L & Fu, J (2016), 'Effect of Heavy Metals Pollution on Soil Microbial Diversity and Bermudagrass Genetic Variation', Frontiers in plant science. [online], vol. 7, pp. 755-755. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27303431.

Last updated: 23 April 2025