Plastic Waste Degradation in Landfill Conditions: The Problem with Microplastics, and Their Direct and Indirect Environmental Effects

Irena Wojnowska-Baryła, Katarzyna Bernat () and Magdalena Zaborowska
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Irena Wojnowska-Baryła: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Sloneczna 45G, 10-709 Olsztyn, Poland
Katarzyna Bernat: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Sloneczna 45G, 10-709 Olsztyn, Poland
Magdalena Zaborowska: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Sloneczna 45G, 10-709 Olsztyn, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: As landfilling is a common method for utilizing plastic waste at its end-of-life, it is important to present knowledge about the environmental and technical complications encountered during plastic disposal, and the formation and spread of microplastics (MPs) from landfills, to better understand the direct and indirect effects of MPs on pollution. Plastic waste around active and former landfills remains a source of MPs. The landfill output consists of leachate and gases created by combined biological, chemical, and physical processes. Thus, small particles and/or fibers, including MPs, are transported to the surroundings by air and by leachate. In this study, a special focus was given to the potential for the migration and release of toxic substances as the aging of plastic debris leads to the release of harmful volatile organic compounds via oxidative photodegradation. MPs are generally seen as the key vehicles and accumulators of non-biodegradable pollutants. Because of their small size, MPs are quickly transported over long distances throughout their surroundings. With large specific surface areas, they have the ability to absorb pollutants, and plastic monomers and additives can be leached out of MPs; thus, they can act as both vectors and carriers of pollutants in the environment.

Keywords: microplastics (MPs); plastic breakdown and degradation; landfill leachate; landfill gases; pollutant vectors and carriers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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