Microplastics in landfill leachate - characteristics and common methods of identification

Abstract

According to estimates, around 40 % of the world's plastic waste production is buried in landfills, which are still a widely used approach for waste disposal. Waste undergoes a number of physical, chemical, and biological changes after being landfilled, producing landfill leachate, a highly contaminated effluent. These complex physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in landfills also cause plastics to break into smaller fragments called microplastics (MPs) which are accumulated in landfill leachate due to their small size. Depending on waste type, the degree of degradation, the climate, the characteristics of the landfill sites, socioeconomic factors, and the applied landfilling technology, leachate composition differs between landfills. Microplastics are now emerging particle anthropogenic contaminants, and their study is generating more and more attention from the scientific community and the general public. Even though landfills have taken steps to decrease the severity of this problem, MPs continue to be produced by plastics in both current and former landfills. In this way, humans and biota may be adversely affected by landfill leachate that has been released into the environment. In order to comprehend the patterns of microplastics degradation and the most typical forms of polymers that they contain, identification and characterization of MPs from landfills is highly required. These efforts will contribute to a better understanding of how MPs from landfills affect the environment.