Abstract：
The escalating use of plastics in agriculture, driven by global population growth and increasing food demand, has concurrently led to a rise in Agricultural Plastic Waste (APW) production. Effective waste management is imperative, prompting this study to address the initial step of management, that is the quantification and localization of waste generated from different production systems in diverse regions. Focused on four Southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal) at the regional level, the study uses Geographic Information System (GIS), land use maps, indices tailored to each specific agricultural application and each crop type for plastic waste mapping. Furthermore, after the data was employed, it was validated by relevant stakeholders of the mentioned countries. The study revealed Spain, particularly the Andalusia region, as the highest contributor to APW equal to 324,000 tons per year, while Portugal\'s Azores region had the lowest estimate equal to 428 tons per year. Significantly, this research stands out as one of the first to comprehensively consider various plastic applications and detailed crop cultivations within the production systems, representing a pioneering effort in addressing plastic waste management in Southern Europe. This can lead further on to the management of waste in this area and the transfer of the scientific proposition to other countries.
摘要：
塑料在农业中的使用不断升级，在全球人口增长和粮食需求增加的推动下，同时导致农业塑料垃圾(APW)产量增加。有效的废物管理势在必行,促使这项研究解决管理的第一步，这是对不同地区不同生产系统产生的废物的量化和本地化。重点关注四个南欧国家(意大利，西班牙,希腊,和葡萄牙)在区域一级，这项研究使用地理信息系统(GIS)，土地利用图,为每种特定的农业应用和每种作物类型定制的塑料废物测绘指数。此外，数据使用后，它得到了上述国家的相关利益攸关方的验证。研究显示，西班牙,尤其是安达卢西亚地区,作为每年32.4万吨的APW的最高贡献者，而葡萄牙亚速尔群岛地区的最低估计为每年428吨。重要的是,这项研究是第一个全面考虑生产系统中各种塑料应用和详细作物种植的研究之一，代表了南欧解决塑料废物管理的开创性努力。这可以进一步导致该领域的废物管理以及将科学主张转移到其他国家。
