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Evolution and associated environmental pollution risks of micro- and nanoplastics through landfill processes
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Researchers reviewed how landfills — the world's primary destination for plastic waste — generate and release micro- and nanoplastics (tiny plastic fragments under 5mm and 1 micron) into surrounding soil, water, and air. The review highlights that landfill mining and remediation activities can actually accelerate the release of these particles, complicating pollution control.
Plastic pollution has garnered increasing global attention, with secondary micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) being recognized as emerging contaminants and becoming growing environmental challenges. Due to their ubiquity and persistence, MNPs pose a significant risk to ecosystems and human health. Landfills are the main sink for waste plastics and have become important a source of MNP generation. This review synthesized existing research on the distribution, impact, and toxicity of MNPs across diverse environments. Focusing on the complex environment in landfills, the fragmentation pathways of waste plastics and the occurrence of MNPs were reviewed, with particular attention to the analytical challenges posed by their detection. By analysing the evolution, leakage, and migration behaviours of waste plastics in landfills, their potential implications for the global carbon cycle as carbon-rich materials were revealed. Furthermore, this review also discussed MNP release risks during landfill remediation, such as landfill mining, providing insights for pollution control strategies for landfills.
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This review examines how landfills generate microplastics as buried plastic waste gradually degrades from physical, chemical, and biological processes. These microplastics enter the environment through leachate, the contaminated liquid that seeps from landfills into surrounding soil and groundwater. The authors evaluate current remediation technologies and highlight the need for better landfill management to reduce this growing source of microplastic pollution.
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This review examines how plastic waste in landfills is physically and biochemically transformed over time, with a focus on the conditions that generate microplastics from buried macroplastics. The authors explore implications for microplastic leaching and environmental contamination from landfill sites.
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This review examined the degradation of plastic waste in landfill conditions and the resulting formation and spread of microplastics. The study highlights that both active and former landfills are ongoing sources of microplastic contamination through leachate and gaseous emissions, and that biological, chemical, and physical processes in landfills break down plastic waste into smaller particles that can enter surrounding environments.
Micro/Nanoplastics Pollution from Landfill Sites: A Comprehensive Review on the Formation, Distribution, Effects and Potential Mitigation
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This comprehensive review examined how landfills generate and release micro- and nanoplastics through UV exposure, mechanical stress, and biological degradation, distributing particles through leachate into groundwater and via wind into surrounding air and soil. Landfills are underrecognized chronic sources of microplastic emissions that contaminate local water supplies and agricultural soils, creating persistent exposure risks for communities living near waste disposal sites.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.