Papers

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Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in landfill soil: Emerging threats the environmental and public health

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in soil at a landfill near residential areas in Indonesia and found extremely high levels of over 60,000 particles per kilogram. The most common types were fragments of polyethylene, PVC, polystyrene, and polypropylene. The study raises public health concerns because landfills near populated areas can release microplastics into surrounding soil and water, creating exposure pathways for nearby communities.

2024 Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Abundance and Characteristics in The Soil Around the Jambi Talang Gulo Landfill

Researchers measured microplastic abundance and characterized particle types in soil surrounding the Talang Gulo landfill in Jambi, Indonesia, finding that the high volume of plastic waste at the facility contributes to elevated microplastic contamination in surrounding soils through environmental weathering and fragmentation.

2024 Bumi
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Abundance and Characteristics in The Soil Around the Jambi Talang Gulo Landfill

Researchers measured microplastic abundance and characterized particle types in soil surrounding the Talang Gulo landfill in Jambi, Indonesia, finding elevated microplastic concentrations in areas adjacent to the high-volume waste disposal facility due to fragmentation of plastic debris under environmental weathering.

2024 Bumi
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Landfill Environments: Distribution, Characteristics, and Risks from Gampong Jawa, Indonesia

Researchers examined microplastic distribution across soil, leachate, river water, and well water surrounding a landfill in Gampong Jawa, Indonesia. They found alarmingly high concentrations in well water (up to 979 particles per liter) and soil (over 23,000 particles per kilogram), with fragments, fibers, and films being the most common types. The study demonstrates that landfills are significant sources of microplastic contamination that can spread to surrounding communities through water and soil pathways.

2024 Aceh International Journal of Science and Technology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and mesoplastics as emerging contaminants in Tehran landfill soils: The distribution and induced-ecological risk

Researchers conducted the first study of microplastic and mesoplastic contamination in Tehran landfill soils, finding plastic particles in all 56 samples collected. Shallow soils had significantly higher concentrations than deeper layers, with most particles being low-density plastics from common single-use products. The calculated hazard indices reached levels III-IV, indicating moderate to high ecological risk from plastic pollution at the landfill site.

2023 Environmental Pollution 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Residential Soils

Researchers collected surface soil from three residential density zones in Surabaya, Indonesia, and characterized microplastics by abundance, shape, color, and polymer type. Microplastics were present in all samples, with concentrations higher in denser residential areas, likely reflecting greater per-capita plastic use and outdoor plastic degradation.

2025 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Article Tier 2

Investigation on Microplastics in Soil near Landfills in the Republic of Korea

Researchers found microplastics in soil samples taken near two South Korean landfills, averaging 73–98 particles per kilogram, with polypropylene and polyethylene being the dominant types and fragments being the most common shape. The high proportion of secondary (weathered) microplastics indicates that fragmentation of larger plastic waste is actively occurring at these sites. These findings confirm that landfills are a significant local source of microplastic soil contamination and warrant inclusion in national monitoring programs.

2023 Sustainability 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics contamination in the soil from Urban Landfill site, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in soil samples from an urban landfill site in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They found microplastics in all samples, predominantly fibers and fragments made of polyethylene and polypropylene, with concentrations varying across the landfill. The study provides some of the first evidence of terrestrial microplastic pollution in Bangladesh and identifies urban landfills as significant reservoirs of soil microplastic contamination.

2020 Heliyon 142 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the amount of macro, meso, and microplastics in the surface soil around the landfill of Tabriz and the effect of the prevailing wind on their distribution

Researchers sampled soil around an improperly managed landfill in Tabriz, Iran, finding it heavily contaminated with microplastics — averaging 470 particles per kilogram of dry soil — along with larger meso- and macroplastic debris. Surprisingly, the prevailing wind had little influence on how the microplastics spread around the site; the pollution was widespread in all directions. Open and poorly managed landfills are a significant and underappreciated source of microplastic contamination in surrounding soils and communities.

2025 Heliyon 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic distribution in monitoring well water in the final landfill area Putri Cempo Surakarta Indonesia

Researchers sampled groundwater from seven monitoring wells around a landfill in Surakarta, Indonesia, finding microplastic concentrations ranging from 320 to 1,960 particles per liter. Polystyrene, polycarbonate, and polypropylene fragments dominated the samples, confirming that landfills are a significant source of microplastic contamination in groundwater that communities depend on for drinking water.

2026 Journal of Ecological Engineering
Article Tier 2

Distribution and accumulation of macro-, meso-, and microplastics in soils of fisherman settlements, Sidoarjo, Indonesia

Researchers excavated soil from fishing settlement sites in Sidoarjo, Indonesia to a depth of 0.3 m and found distributed accumulations of macro-, meso-, and microplastics, with contamination levels reflecting intensive human activities and poor solid waste management in these coastal communities.

2025 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in different zones of waste landfill site: A case study of Hamadan, Iran

Researchers conducted the first study of microplastic abundance across different zones of a landfill in Hamadan, Iran, finding staggeringly high concentrations — up to 76,513 particles per kilogram of dry soil — in leachate lagoon areas where plastic-contaminated liquid collects. Fibers made up 71% of particles and LDPE and HDPE plastics dominated, highlighting landfills as a major but overlooked source of microplastic pollution.

2023 Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic diversity, risks and soil impacts: A multi-metric assessment across land-use systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance, polymer diversity, and ecological risk across seven land-use types in India's Brahmaputra Valley, finding that built-up areas had the highest particle counts while forest soils paradoxically showed the greatest polymer hazard scores due to high-risk polymers, and that land-use type shapes both the quantity and composition of soil microplastic contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Preliminary results on microplastic pollution from agricultural soil in Vietnam: Distribution, characterization, and ecological risk assessment

This first microplastic survey of Vietnamese agricultural soils found concentrations ranging from 1,700 to 38,800 items per kilogram, with soils near residential areas and manufacturing facilities showing concentrations roughly five times higher than remote agricultural land. Fibers dominated and most particles were under 1 mm, with the majority of sites assessed at hazard level IV — the highest ecological risk category. The study establishes a critical baseline for a country where agricultural plastic use is intensive and growing.

2023 VIETNAM JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of Microplastics and Associated Heavy Metals in Urban Soils Affected by Anthropogenic Littering: Distribution, Spatial Variation, and Influence of Soil Properties

Researchers sampled soils across residential, commercial, and industrial land-use types in urban areas and found microplastics in every location, with polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyamide as the dominant polymer types, at concentrations up to 850,000 particles per kilogram. Heavy metals were also associated with the plastic particles, meaning microplastics in urban soil may serve as combined carriers of chemical toxicants. The findings highlight urban soil as a major but underappreciated reservoir of microplastic pollution.

2023 Soil and Sediment Contamination An International Journal 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics and potential risks of microplastics in the soil near landfill in Anyang, China

Soil samples collected around a large landfill in Anyang, China contained between 900 and 4,900 microplastic particles per kilogram, dominated by fibers and films smaller than 0.5 mm, with rayon and polypropylene as the most common polymers. Overall contamination was classified as moderate with low ecological risk, but soil texture was the main factor influencing how microplastics distributed themselves — not organic matter or pH. The results suggest landfills are meaningful point sources of soil microplastic contamination to surrounding land.

2026 Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment
Article Tier 2

Identification, characterization, and implications of microplastics in soil – A case study of Bhopal, central India

Researchers identified and characterized microplastics in soils from Bhopal, central India, documenting their occurrence, distribution, and polymer composition to assess the extent of soil contamination from poor plastic waste management practices.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in terrestrial environment: Identification, characterization, and risk assessment in Indore, Central India

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in soil from agricultural and recreational areas in Indore, India. Recreational sites had about six times more microplastic particles than farmland, with most particles made of common plastics like PET and polypropylene. While the ecological risk was rated low for now, the long-term buildup of these particles in soil could eventually pose threats to crops and the food chain.

2024 Soil Use and Management 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic migration from landfill-mined soil through earth filling operations and ecological risk assessment: a case study in New Delhi, India

Researchers analyzed soil-like material mined from three aged landfill sites in New Delhi, India, and found microplastic concentrations ranging from about 26,000 to 41,000 particles per kilogram. Fibers and fragments were the dominant shapes, with 60% of particles smaller than 425 micrometers, and polyethylene and polypropylene were the most common polymers. The findings raise concerns about reusing landfill-mined material for earth-filling projects, as it could spread microplastic contamination to new areas.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soil around a solid waste treatment center in southeast China

Researchers found microplastic contamination in all agricultural soil samples surrounding a solid waste treatment center in southeastern China, with concentrations up to 2,360 particles per kilogram and evidence that weathered polyethylene and polypropylene particles are accumulating heavy metals on their surfaces.

2022 Journal of Soils and Sediments 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Examining Soil Microplastics: Prevalence and Consequences Across Varied Land Use Contexts

Scientists examined microplastic contamination in soil samples from different land use areas in Makassar City, Indonesia. They found microplastics present across all sites, with the types and concentrations varying based on how the land was used, whether for agriculture, residential, or commercial purposes. The study suggests that human activity patterns strongly influence the amount and kind of microplastic pollution found in urban and agricultural soils.

2024 Civil Engineering Journal 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifikasi Kelimpahan Dan Karakteristik Fisik Mikroplastik Pada Lahan Sawah Di Sekitar Tempat Pemrosesan Akhir Sampah Jalupang Kabupaten Karawang

This Indonesian study identified microplastic abundance and physical characteristics (shape, color, size) in paddy field soils near the Jalupang final waste processing site in Karawang Regency, finding 266–746 microplastic particles per kilogram of sediment with fibers and fragments predominating.

2025 Journal of Authentic Research
Article Tier 2

Urban Microplastic Pollution Revealed by a Large-Scale Wetland Soil Survey

Researchers conducted a large-scale survey of wetland soils across an urban area and found an average of 379 microplastic particles per kilogram, with abundance closely linked to proximity to the city's economic center. Polypropylene was the most common polymer type, and fiber and fragment shapes dominated the samples. The study found that atmospheric particle pollution and heavy metal concentrations in soil were strongly correlated with microplastic levels, suggesting shared urban pollution sources.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial distribution and ecological risks of microplastics in agricultural soils near a solid waste dumpsite in southwest Bangladesh

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils surrounding a municipal solid waste dumpsite in southwest Bangladesh, characterizing the types, spatial distribution, and ecological risks. They found significant microplastic accumulation in soils near the dump, with contamination levels decreasing at greater distances. The study highlights that waste dumpsites are important point sources of microplastic pollution that can affect the fertility and ecological health of surrounding agricultural lands.

2026 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment