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Landfill: Time capsule of plastic waste but microplastic generation source
Summary
Landfills aren't just where our trash goes to sit — they're actively breaking down plastic waste and leaking tiny microplastic particles into surrounding soil and water for decades. Researchers found that landfills in coastal China are especially problematic hotspots, and even with major cleanup efforts, these coastal sites will keep generating significant microplastic pollution through at least 2050. Since microplastics can work their way into water supplies, food, and ultimately our bodies, this research suggests we need targeted, location-specific strategies to tackle the problem, not one-size-fits-all solutions.
Landfills act as critical terrestrial sources of microplastics, functioning as “leaky time capsules” that continuously releasing pollutants into surrounding ecosystems. Here, we established a microplastic-generated prediction model to dynamically quantify microplastic generation in landfills. By calibrating 31 years of in-situ tracking at a large-scale landfill together with a nationwide field investigation across 37 landfills, we systematically identified the spatial patterns of microplastic generation in China. East China acts as primary hotspot contributing 45.6% of the total microplastic stock. Landfills in coastal areas account for nearly one-third of the national microplastic stock despite representing only 8.3% of total sites. Although aggressive source reduction and in situ remediation reduce national microplastic by 46.4% by 2050, high-risk landfills in coastal areas remain insensitive to these measures. These findings highlight the necessity of differentiated regional control measures to effectively mitigate landfill-sourced microplastic pollution.