Raised vegetable beds covered in plastic mulch. Plastic mulch is a product used , in a similar fashion to mulch, to suppress weeds and conserve water in crop production and landscaping. Certain plastic mulches also act as a barrier to keep methyl bromide, both a powerful fumigant and ozone depleter, in the soil. Crops grow through slits or holes in thin plastic sheeting. Plastic mulch is often used in conjunction with drip irrigation. Some research has been done using different colors of mulch to affect crop growth. This method is predominant in large-scale vegetable growing, with millions of acres cultivated under plastic mulch worldwide each year. Disposal of plastic mulch is cited as an environmental problem ; however, technologies exist to provide for the recycling of used/disposed plastic mulch into viable plastic resins for re-use in the plastics manufacturing industry.Plastic mulch film recycling process Agricultural plastics recycling website, accessed 07.03.08 
Raised vegetable beds covered in plastic mulch. Plastic mulch is a product used in plasticulture in a similar fashion to mulch, to suppress weeds and conserve water in crop production and landscaping. Certain plastic mulches also act as a barrier to keep methyl bromide, both a powerful fumigant and ozone depleter, in the soil. Crops grow through slits or holes in thin plastic sheeting. Plastic mulch is often used in conjunction with drip irrigation. Some research has been done using different colors of mulch to affect crop growth. This method is predominant in large-scale vegetable growing, with millions of acres cultivated under plastic mulch worldwide each year. Disposal of plastic mulch is an environmental problem . Technologies exist to provide for the recycling of used/disposed plastic mulch into viable plastic resins for re-use in the plastics manufacturing industry.Plastic mulch film recycling process Agricultural plastics recycling website, accessed 07.03.08 However these methods are not very effective due to contamination by agrochemicals of the plastic. Other concerns include residual microplastics in the soil which can have negative effects on soil ecologies, including microbes and earth worms.
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However these methods are not very effective due to contamination by agrochemicals of the plastic. Other concerns include residual microplastics in the soil which can have negative effects on soil ecologies, including microbes and earth worms.