<p>One issue that you've got is the area will be contaminated with fragments of plastic that are microscopic in size to large pieces and they will be at varying depths throughout the soil.</p>

<p>To most people that wouldn't be much of a problem, but for you, who wants to grow food with an organic certification it's going to be a major problem.</p>

<p>Setting fire to that land and burning the plastic with dried vegetation is not a option for you and your desired organic accreditation.</p>

<p>If you can't use the land for another purpose, such a site for new buildings, a parking lot for visitors, or a new roadway you may need to dig deeply to remove the affected soil, and more, and then import replacement soil from elsewhere.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T21:11:25.173Z
Not to mention that any part of the plastic that's under ground simply won't burn.
jamesqf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T14:48:10.880Z
2015-08-06T14:48:10.880Z
Fred
<p>I am at a farm where previous tenants left a non-biodegradable plastic film roughly 10-15 years ago.  It is inconsistently spread over a few acres and was not discovered until we attempted plowing the fields.  The fields are overgrown with weeds (grasses, thistles, small shrubs, etc.) about 1m tall and this growth has fragmented the plastic considerably (see image, left).
The plastic must be removed in order for food to be safely grown there, and to meet the organic standards of the farm.  </p>

<p>What method and equipment (such as an excavator) would best remove the plastic and top layers of soil, with minimal damage to the remaining soil (ie minimal degradation)?
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cUiam.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cUiam.jpg" alt="close-up of black plastic,left, and view of field growth, right."></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-15T11:41:15.857Z
Removal will be expensive - I think you'd need to excavate the foil and use a windsifter to separate it from the earth. Test if this works before ordering the excavator!
mart
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T14:28:19.173Z
The left picture suggests large parts of it can be recovered manually in winter. That is the only practical (half) solution I can think of. Googling for possible answers I found [you're not the only one](http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/plastic-merges-into-chinas-farmland-report/). No solutions though - if Google translate is good enough you can maybe find out through the [original article](http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2013/10/14/287302.html) if anyone in China is working on a solution.
Jan Doggen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T16:58:11.860Z
Maybe more appropriate for: http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/
arkaia
<soil><environmental-protection><agriculture>
Removing agricultural plastic film waste after 10+ years degradation
ElizabethEnviro
# Removing agricultural plastic film waste after 10+ years degradation

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-08-06)

I am at a farm where previous tenants left a non-biodegradable plastic film roughly 10-15 years ago. It is inconsistently spread over a few acres and was not discovered until we attempted plowing the fields. The fields are overgrown with weeds (grasses, thistles, small shrubs, etc.) about 1m tall and this growth has fragmented the plastic considerably (see image, left).
The plastic must be removed in order for food to be safely grown there, and to meet the organic standards of the farm.

What method and equipment (such as an excavator) would best remove the plastic and top layers of soil, with minimal damage to the remaining soil (ie minimal degradation)?
[![close-up of black plastic,left, and view of field growth, right.](https://i.sstatic.net/cUiam.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/cUiam.jpg)

**Tags:** soil, environmental-protection, agriculture

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: The left picture suggests large parts of it can be recovered manually in winter. That is the only practical (half) solution I can think of. Googling for possible answers I found [you're not the only one](http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/14/plastic-merges-into-chinas-farmland-report/). No solutions though - if Google translate is good enough you can maybe find out through the [original article](http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2013/10/14/287302.html) if anyone in China is working on a solution.  
> **username_3**: Maybe more appropriate for: http://sustainability.stackexchange.com/  
> **username_1**: Removal will be expensive - I think you'd need to excavate the foil and use a windsifter to separate it from the earth. Test if this works before ordering the excavator!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-08-06. Score: 4

One issue that you've got is the area will be contaminated with fragments of plastic that are microscopic in size to large pieces and they will be at varying depths throughout the soil.

To most people that wouldn't be much of a problem, but for you, who wants to grow food with an organic certification it's going to be a major problem.

Setting fire to that land and burning the plastic with dried vegetation is not a option for you and your desired organic accreditation.

If you can't use the land for another purpose, such a site for new buildings, a parking lot for visitors, or a new roadway you may need to dig deeply to remove the affected soil, and more, and then import replacement soil from elsewhere.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Not to mention that any part of the plastic that's under ground simply won't burn.  

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