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Occurrence Characteristics, Effects and Fate of Typical Emerging Contaminants in Compost
Summary
This review of emerging contaminants in municipal solid waste compost found substantial levels of microplastics (up to 32,070 items/kg in sewage sludge compost), PFAS, antibiotic resistance genes, and pharmaceuticals, with all categories capable of entering and disrupting soil ecosystems when compost is applied to land. The finding that compost—widely promoted as a soil amendment—can be a vector for microplastic and chemical contamination highlights a critical but underappreciated pathway for pollutant dispersal into agricultural soils.
With the acceleration of urbanization and intensified human activities, emerging contaminants characterized by persistence and adverse health effects are increasingly detected in municipal solid waste compost, posing significant challenges to environmental and public health. This review focuses on four typical contaminants in compost: microplastics (MPs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Key findings reveal substantial contamination levels: sewage sludge compost shows the highest MPs abundance (8730–32,070 items/kg), food packaging waste compost contains elevated PFASs concentrations (31–75 μg/kg), livestock manure compost exhibits prominent ARGs levels (1.01 × 1010 copies/kg), and sludge compost retains notable PPCPs residues (e.g., ibuprofen at 6224 ng/g). These contaminants enter soil ecosystems through compost application, disrupting soil ecological structures and microbial diversity. Growing awareness of their environmental prevalence underscores the urgent need for systematic understanding. Compared to previous studies, this review uniquely quantifies contaminant levels across diverse compost types and analyzes their cumulative impacts on soil systems. While progress has been made in identifying these pollutants, critical knowledge gaps persist regarding their environmental behavior and fate, necessitating targeted research to develop effective mitigation strategies.