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Small, submillimeter microplastic particles may be more hazardous to the environment. However, research on their presence in composts has been impeded by the difficulty to univocally identify small plastic particles in such complex matrices. Here a method is proposed for the analysis of particles between 0.01 and 1.0\u00a0mm according to number, size, and polymer type in compost. As a first demonstration of its potential, the method is used to determine large and small microplastic in composts from eight municipal compost producing plants: three simple biowaste composters, four plants processing greenery and cuttings and one two-stage biowaste digester-composter. While polyethylene, PE, tends to dominate among fragments &gt;\u20091\u00a0mm, the microplastic fraction contained more polypropylene, PP. Whereas the contamination with PE\/PP microplastic was similar over the investigated composts, only composts prepared from biowaste contained microplastic with a signature of biodegradable plastic, namely poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate), PBAT. Moreover, in these composts PBAT microplastic tended to form the largest fraction. When the bulk of residual PBAT in the composts was analyzed by chloroform extraction, an inverse correlation between the number of particles &gt;\u20090.01\u00a0mm and the total extracted amount was seen, arguing for breakdown into smaller particles, but not necessarily a mass reduction. PBAT oligomers and monomers as possible substrates for subsequent biodegradation were not found. Remaining microplastic will enter the environment with the composts, where its subsequent degradability depends on the local conditions and is to date largely uninvestigated.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-51185-6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,27]],"date-time":"2024-01-27T05:02:30Z","timestamp":1706331750000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":27,"title":["Detection and specific chemical identification of submillimeter plastic fragments in complex matrices such as compost"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Thomas","family":"Steiner","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lisa-Cathrin","family":"Leitner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanhu","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julia N.","family":"M\u00f6ller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin G. 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Waste Biomass Valor. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12649-022-01870-2 (2022).","journal-title":"Waste Biomass Valor."},{"key":"51185_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17950","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-018-36172-y","volume":"8","author":"S Piehl","year":"2018","unstructured":"Piehl, S. et al. Identification and quantification of macro- and microplastics on an agricultural farmland. Sci. Rep. 8, 17950 (2018).","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"51185_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.3390\/environments8040036","volume":"8","author":"B Schothorst","year":"2021","unstructured":"Schothorst, B., Beriot, N., Huerta, E. & Geissen, V. Sources of light density microplastic related to two agricultural practices: The use of compost and plastic mulch. Environments 8, 36 (2021).","journal-title":"Environments"},{"key":"51185_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2017.08.086","volume":"612","author":"M Bl\u00e4sing","year":"2018","unstructured":"Bl\u00e4sing, M. & Amelung, W. Plastics in soil: Analytical methods and possible sources. Sci. Total Environ. 612, 422\u2013435 (2018).","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"51185_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13868","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.0c04641","volume":"54","author":"SW Kim","year":"2020","unstructured":"Kim, S. W., Waldman, W. R., Kim, T.-Y. & Rillig, M. C. Effects of different microplastics on nematodes in the soil environment: tracking the extractable additives using an ecotoxicological approach. Environ. Sci. Technol. 54, 13868\u201313878 (2020).","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"51185_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6044","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.9b01339","volume":"53","author":"AA de SouzaMachado","year":"2019","unstructured":"de SouzaMachado, A. A. et al. Microplastics can change soil properties and affect plant performance. Environ. Sci. Technol. 53, 6044\u20136052 (2019).","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"51185_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.143335","volume":"760","author":"M Braun","year":"2021","unstructured":"Braun, M., Mail, M., Heyse, R. & Amelung, W. Plastic in compost: Prevalence and potential input into agricultural and horticultural soils. Sci. Total Environ. 760, 143335 (2021).","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"51185_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coesh.2021.100297","volume":"24","author":"M Vithanage","year":"2021","unstructured":"Vithanage, M., Ramanayaka, S., Hasinthara, S. & Navaratne, A. Compost as a carrier for microplastics and plastic-bound toxic metals into agroecosystems. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health 24, 100297 (2021).","journal-title":"Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health"},{"key":"51185_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"339","DOI":"10.1038\/s41561-019-0335-5","volume":"12","author":"S Allen","year":"2019","unstructured":"Allen, S. et al. Atmospheric transport and deposition of microplastics in a remote mountain catchment. Nat. Geosci. 12, 339\u2013344 (2019).","journal-title":"Nat. Geosci."},{"key":"51185_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aax1157","author":"M Bergmann","year":"2019","unstructured":"Bergmann, M. et al. White and wonderful? Microplastics prevail in snow from the Alps to the Arctic. Sci. Adv. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.aax1157 (2019).","journal-title":"Sci. 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