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Microbe-Mediated Degradation of Polyethylene and Release of Associated Pollutants under Simulated Dark Environments

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Zhihang Yuan, Changfu Yang, Xiaoxing Lin, Qiujie Huang, Xiaoxing Lin, Changfu Yang, Changfu Yang, Xiaoxing Lin, Xiaoxing Lin, Xiaoxing Lin, Qiujie Huang, Xiaoxing Lin, Hao Wang Qiujie Huang, Qiujie Huang, Zhaowen Cheng, Qiujie Huang, Changfu Yang, Changfu Yang, Changfu Yang, Hao Wang Hao Wang Changfu Yang, Qiujie Huang, Zhaowen Cheng, Ziyang Lou, Zhirong Xue, Changfu Yang, Hao Wang Zhihang Yuan, Long Kong, Zhirong Xue, Hao Wang Changfu Yang, Xiaoxing Lin, Hao Wang Hao Wang Ziyang Lou, Xiaoxing Lin, Liyan Song, Changfu Yang, Ziyang Lou, Hao Wang Liyan Song, Hao Wang Ziyang Lou, Zhaowen Cheng, Ziyang Lou, Ziyang Lou, Zhihang Yuan, Hao Wang Ziyang Lou, Haiping Yuan, Haiping Yuan, Nanwen Zhu, Ziyang Lou, Nanwen Zhu, Long Kong, Ziyang Lou, Hao Wang

Summary

Landfills and deep ocean sediments are dark, oxygen-poor environments where plastic waste may sit for decades, yet little was known about what happens to it there. An 800-day experiment found that anaerobic bacteria slowly colonize and degrade polyethylene (PE), but in doing so they release massive numbers of nanoplastic particles—up to 430 billion per milliliter of leachate—along with phthalate chemical additives. Plastics buried for around seven years appeared most vulnerable to microbial attack. These findings reveal that landfills are not passive plastic storage sites but active generators of secondary nanoplastic and chemical pollution that can leach into surrounding environments.

Polymers

Study Type Environmental

Polyethylene (PE) dominates global packaging waste, yet its fate remains poorly understood in dark, anoxic environments such as ocean sediments and landfills, which represent important reservoirs for discarded plastics. In this study, 800-day microcosm experiments were performed with PE samples retrieved from an active landfill site with distinct landfill durations. Results demonstrated that anaerobic microbes slowly degrade PE while enhancing the release of secondary pollutants, such as nanoplastics (NPs) and phthalate esters (PAEs). Microbial colonization increased the surface roughness of PE samples and the abundance of oxygenated functional groups, driving oxidative chain scission, NP release (2.4-4.3 × 10<sup>11</sup> particles mL<sup>-1</sup> leachate), and PAE biodegradation. Logarithmic curves derived from an improved Polymer Aging Index revealed a midage acceleration window, with PE buried for 7 years being the most susceptible to microbial attack. PE-associated microbial communities were dominated by deterministic assembly processes, with functional taxa being the dominant drivers of PE aging, and PAE degraders exhibiting dual-threshold dynamics. Together, this study identifies a coupled oxidation-biodegradation-fragmentation feedbacks mechanism that governs the fate of PE in landfills, highlighting the dual microbial role in degrading PE and amplifying associated pollutant release.

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