Solinatra discusses the impact of PFAS and microplastics on horticulture, emphasising the critical importance of material selection for environmental sustainability and soil health, and presents its Natural Engineered Materials as a bio-based solution that avoids harmful substances
Horticulture depends on healthy soil, clean water, and functioning biological systems. At the same time, it relies on a wide range of material products throughout cultivation and plant production. Pots, propagation trays, growing containers, irrigation components, and protective products all operate directly within the environments where plants are grown.
PFAS and microplastics bring a new dimension to material selection. Both can remain in environmental systems long after the original product has completed its function. For horticulture, this creates a direct connection between material design and the long-term condition of the soil and water that future cultivation depends on.
PFAS and microplastics are becoming part of the horticulture conversation
Plastics and polymers have an established role in horticulture. They provide durability and efficient processing across modern growing systems. The EU’s work on circular horticulture has also recognised the scale of the resulting waste challenge. Its Circular Horticulture Focus Group reported extensive plastic use in greenhouses, including pots, trays, hanging baskets, films, irrigation tape, and plant labels, and described plastic circularity in protected horticulture as very low.
Microplastics add another concern. The EU-funded PAPILLONS project studied agricultural plastics across European soil systems and identified agricultural plastic as a major source of microplastic pollution. Ageing, breakdown and material loss can release micro- and nano-plastics into soil. The project also found effects on soil properties, water dynamics, microorganisms, soil fauna, and plants under different experimental conditions.
PFAS follow a different pathway. These highly persistent substances can enter soil and water through several sources and remain in the environment for long periods. The European Environment Agency reports that PFAS in soils can migrate towards groundwater and enter the food chain through plant uptake. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) also identifies contaminated soil and water used for food production as routes through which PFAS can reach food.
These issues make material specification increasingly relevant to horticulture. The materials used around plants should be considered in the context of the soil, water, and biological systems surrounding them. Solinatra develops its Natural Engineered Materials with requirements concerning ingredient composition and end-of-life behaviour. Its formulations contain no PFAS, while biodegradation and compostability claims are supported by evidence specific to each grade and application, including the conditions under which they have been assessed.
Natural Engineered Materials for horticultural requirements
Solinatra Natural Engineered Materials are complete formulations developed from bio-based and naturally sourced ingredients, with agricultural by-products forming one of several potential feedstock sources. Using these by-products as material feedstock gives them an additional application in horticultural products. Solinatra has already worked with inputs such as spent coffee grounds, corn husks, and leaves in material formulations for horticultural applications.
This material concept is developed through an ingredient-agnostic approach, so the formulation is not tied to one fixed feedstock. Different feedstocks can be assessed according to their properties and incorporated into existing or newly developed formulations where they meet the requirements of the application.
Other components are selected with the same application focus. Depending on the grade, the formulation can include a bio-based polymer matrix using bio-based polymers such as PLA, PHA or PHBV. The complete material is engineered around the physical properties, production process, regulatory requirements, functional life, and responsible end-of-life required for the final product.
This flexibility is particularly relevant in horticulture, where products operate in very different environments and for very different periods of time. Some remain in controlled growing environments for relatively short cultivation cycles. Others are exposed to outdoor conditions for several years or come into direct contact with soil, water and coastal ecosystems.
The range of products already made of Solinatra demonstrates how Natural Engineered Materials can be developed around these different horticultural requirements.
Nursery and protected cultivation
Together with Modiform, Solinatra has developed several thermoformed products for nursery and protected cultivation, including orchid plant pots, vegetable sprout punnets, and propagation trays. These products operate directly within growing environments and interact with water, growing media, plants, and handling systems.
Green infrastructure
The formulation therefore needs to support vegetation and maintain the required physical performance over a longer period. Its lifecycle brief needs to cover installation, plant establishment and the period during which the roof system relies on the tray’s structure. The required service life and intended end-of-life route must be defined for that system and supported by application-specific evidence. This gives the roofing tray a different material brief from products used within shorter nursery or cultivation cycles.
Coastal restoration
The formulation needs to provide the required functional life during establishment. Its subsequent behaviour in coastal conditions requires separate assessment, including the extent and rate of biodegradation and the potential for persistent residues. This remains an ongoing development and research project. Within the Solinatra Forests project in Madagascar, Solinatra is working with researchers from the University of Antananarivo and local communities to monitor seedling survival, growth, and planting-pot performance during establishment in a tidal nursery. The research is intended to build evidence on performance under real-world coastal conditions.
Forestry and tree establishment
A tree guard has a much longer functional requirement. It may need to protect a young tree for several years and maintain sufficient structure through repeated exposure to rain, sunlight, changing temperatures, and other outdoor conditions.
The expected service life becomes part of the formulation brief. The material can be developed around the period of protection required for tree establishment, with its end-of-life behaviour considered in relation to what should happen once that function is complete.
Designing end-of-life into the material
For horticulture, end-of-life planning begins with what happens once a product has completed its function. Pots, trays, tree guards, and other growing products may all serve different purposes, so their end-of-life routes also need to reflect how and where they are used.
Biodegradation is relevant for applications where collection and industrial treatment are not the realistic route. Products used directly in soil or natural environments may need to degrade under the conditions they are expected to encounter. A mangrove pot made of Solinatra is one example, where the end-of-life behaviour must be assessed against the specific coastal conditions of use. Any claim about degradation or persistent residues in that environment requires supporting evidence for the relevant formulation and product.
Composting is particularly relevant for many horticultural applications because these products already operate around organic media. For products certified for industrial composting to EN 13432, this provides a defined treatment route where local collection arrangements and facilities accept them. Certification applies to the products and conditions within its scope.
Why persistence matters in the growing cycle
The discussion around PFAS and persistent microplastics is particularly significant for horticulture. Soil and water are fundamental production resources, supporting plant growth, food production, and ecological restoration. Persistent contamination in these systems can remain long after an individual product has completed its function.
Agricultural plastics will continue to receive attention as Europe develops its understanding of microplastic contamination in soils. The PAPILLONS project has already brought the issue into closer focus by documenting agricultural plastic as an important source and examining its effects across soil and plant systems. PFAS research is moving in the same direction, with European authorities continuing to investigate their movement through water, soil, plants, and food.
Horticulture therefore has a clear reason to consider persistence as part of material specification, addressing both ingredient composition and the potential for persistent residues during use and after use. Within Solinatra’s Natural Engineered Materials, no PFAS provide a starting point. Ingredient-agnostic formulation adds the flexibility required across very different horticultural products. Built-in end-of-life planning connects to the requirements of the intended treatment or receiving environment, with claims limited to the conditions supported by testing and certification.
References:
- EIP-AGRI Service Point (2019). EIP-AGRI Focus Group Circular Horticulture: Final Report. European Commission.
- European Commission, CORDIS (2025). PAPILLONS: Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, Lifecycles and Long-term Sustainability. Horizon 2020, Grant Agreement No. 101000210.
- Briassoulis, D. (2023). “Agricultural plastics as a potential threat to food security, health, and environment through soil pollution by microplastics.” Science of the Total Environment, 892, 164533.
- European Environment Agency (EEA) (2026). PFAS Contamination and Soil Remediation. European Zero Pollution Dashboards.
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2020). PFAS in Food: EFSA Assesses Risks and Sets Tolerable Intake.
- Forestry Commission (2020). Tree Protection: The Use of Tree Shelters and Guards. UK Government.
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