The Plastic Footprint of the U.S. Agricultural System

Agricultural systems face growing demand to support global population growth within sustainable limits of resource consumption and environmental impacts. Plastic use in food production is a complex part of this challenge: plastics can increase crop yields, extend growing seasons, and decrease manual labor, but their production, use, and waste leads to environmental and human health impacts. Circular economy solutions to minimize these impacts are emerging, but are limited by the lack of reliable information about the magnitude and nature of agricultural plastics use. This study therefore aimed to model plastic consumption at each stage of U.S. agriculture and identify priorities for reducing use and waste. A modeling framework was created to account for the annual demand for crops and agricultural commodities that use plastic and the operational practices and functional requirements that govern the type, amount, and lifespan of plastics used. We estimate that 1.6 million tonnes of agricultural plastics are consumed each year in the U.S., representing 2.7 % of total domestic plastic use. The largest demands for plastics are in horticultural containers, mulch films, and silage storage, with LDPE, HIPS, and HDPE making up the most prevalent polymers in use. Even accounting for uncertainties, agricultural plastics represent a significant sustainability challenge due to the magnitude of polymer use, the variability in form and material, and the difficulty recovering plastic products at end-of-life. Results also highlight research priorities for sustainable interventions, including material substitution, reuse, and recycling.