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Occurrence of microplastics in landfill systems and their fate with landfill age
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Microplastics were characterized in leachate and refuse from Shanghai landfills of varying ages (3–20 years), finding average concentrations of 8 items/L in leachate and 62 items/g in refuse, with fiber/cellophane dominant in leachate and fragment/polyethylene in refuse. The study identifies landfills as important but understudied sources of microplastic pollution in the environment.
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that have been extensively detected in marine and terrestrial environments. Landfills are receptacles for cumulative loading of plastic waste derived from industry and households, but data on MPs occurrences in landfill systems are lacking. In the current study, the occurrence, characteristics and distribution patterns of MPs in landfills (including leachate and refuse) of the megacity Shanghai were investigated in accordance with different landfill ages (3-20 years). The results revealed that the average abundances of MPs in leachate and refuse were 8 (±3) items/L and 62 (±23) items/g, respectively. The predominant shapes and polymer types of the detected MPs were fibers and cellophane in leachate, whereas they were fragments and polyethylene in refuse. The patterns of abundance and size distribution of MPs in refuse varied from different landfill age, and different polymer MPs exhibited various occurrence patterns with increasing landfill age. Further spectra analysis suggested the presence of oxidative degradation of polyethylene MPs in the landfill process, especially for the landfill time of more than 20 years, so the fates of MPs in landfills were determined by the increase consumptions of plastics products and the degradation process of MPs in landfills. This study firstly provided a systematic overview of MPs pollution characteristics in landfill systems, and the results will foster the understanding of MPs fates over a long time scale in the environments.
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This review provides the first global overview of microplastic contamination in landfill leachate, the liquid that seeps out of garbage dumps. Microplastic levels varied widely, with the highest concentrations found in Shanghai at 291 particles per liter, and polyethylene was the most common type worldwide. Since landfill leachate can seep into groundwater and nearby waterways, this represents an important but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution that could affect drinking water supplies.
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Leachate from four active and two closed municipal solid waste landfills was analyzed for microplastics, finding 0.42–24.58 items/L across all 12 samples with 17 polymer types identified and polyethylene and polypropylene as dominant types. The study provides direct evidence that landfills release microplastics to the environment through leachate and identifies them as a significant but understudied pollution source.
Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in soil and leachate at different zones of unsanitary landfill
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Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in soil and leachate across young, middle-aged, and old zones of an unsanitary landfill. They found that fiber-shaped microplastics were most common, with PET, polypropylene, and polystyrene as the dominant polymers, and that leachate from middle-aged zones had significantly lower microplastic abundance than young or old zones. The study shows that landfill age and environmental degradation influence how microplastics are distributed between soil and leachate.
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