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Accumulation of airborne microplastics in lichens from a landfill dumping site (Italy)
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Lichens collected at varying distances from an Italian landfill showed the highest microplastic accumulation (147 mp/g dry weight) closest to the facility, with counts declining at 200 m and 1,500 m, confirming that landfills are a source of airborne microplastic deposition.
The aim of this study was to assess if lichens (Flavoparmelia caperata) surrounding a landfill dumping site in Italy accumulated higher amounts of microplastics compared with lichens at more distant sites. Lichen samples were collected at three sites along a transect from the landfill: close (directly facing the landfill), intermediate (200 m), and remote (1500 m). Anthropogenic microparticles (fibres and fragments) were determined visually after wet peroxide digestion of the samples, and microplastics were identified based on a hot needle test; the type of plastic was identified by micro-Raman analysis. The results showed that lichens collected in the vicinity of the landfill accumulated the highest number of anthropogenic microfibres and fragments (147 mp/g dw), and consequently microplastics (79 mp/g dw), suggesting that the impact of landfill emissions is spatially limited. The proportion of fibres and fragments identified as microplastics was 40% across all sites and the most abundant polymer type was polyester or polyethylene terephthalate (68%). These results clearly indicated that lichens can effectively be used to monitor the deposition of microplastics.
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Researchers used lichens as natural air pollution monitors and found that microplastics accumulate in lichen tissue along a gradient from natural areas to city centers, with urban sites in Rome showing twice the contamination of natural sites. Over 97% of the trapped particles were fibers, and the study also documented the first evidence of larger mesoplastic pieces caught by lichens -- confirming that airborne plastic pollution increases with human activity.
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