A landfill serves as a critical source of microplastic pollution and harbors diverse plastic biodegradation microbial species and enzymes: Study in large-scale landfills, China

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants. Landfills store up to 42% of worldwide plastic waste and serve as an important source of MPs. However, the study of MPs distribution and the plastic biodegradation potential in landfills is limited. In this study, the distribution of abundance, size, morphology and polymer type of MPs and plastics biodegradation species in refuse samples along landfill depths were extensively investigated within a large-scale landfill in Shenzhen, China. In addition, plastics biodegradation enzymes were evaluated in seven Chinese large-scale landfills leachate. MPs distribution pattern was investigated in all refuse samples. The abundance of MPs in refuse samples varied between 81 and 133 items/g. The size of MPs in all samples varied between 0.03 and 5 mm, and the average sizes were 1.2 mm ± 0.1 mm. The main morphology and polymer type were fragments and cellophane, respectively. Landfill depth was significantly negatively correlated with the relative abundance of MPs size 1–5 mm (p < 0.05) and was positively correlated with the relative abundance of MPs size < 0.2 mm (p < 0.05), suggesting that plastics were broken down during municipal solid waste decomposition. The multiple regression on matrices analysis further showed the landfill depths and plastic morphology significantly impact the MPs distribution. The strains, Lysinibacillus massiliensis (with relative abundance of 1.8%) for low-density polyethylene and polystyrene biodegradation, and Pseudomonas stutzeri (0.1%) for low density polythene and polypropylene biodegradation, were detected on the plastic surface with high relative abundance. Furthermore, 75 plastic degradation species and their associated 31 enzymes (breakdown 24 plastics) were discovered in seven landfills leachate samples.