Global landfill leachate characteristics: Occurrences and abundances of environmental contaminants and the microbiome

Abstract

Landfill leachates are complex mixtures containing very high concentrations of biodegradable and recalcitrant toxic compounds. Understanding the major contaminant components and microbial community signatures in global landfill leachates is crucial for timely decision-making regarding contaminant management and treatment. Therefore, this study analyzed leachate data from 318 landfill sites primarily used for municipal solid waste disposal, focusing on their chemical and microbiological characteristics. The most prevalent and dominant components in landfill leachates are the chemical oxygen demand (COD, 3.7-75.9 × 10³ mg/L) and NH₄⁺ (0.03-0.81 × 10⁴ mg/L), followed by salt species such as SO₄^2- (0.03-5.25 × 10³ mg/L), Cl^- (3.2-7.8 × 10³ mg/L), K⁺ (0.58-4.20 × 10³ mg/L), Na⁺ (1.3-13.0 × 10³ mg/L) and Ca²⁺ (2.35-230.23 × 10³ mg/L), which exhibit significant fluctuations. Heavy metals and metalloids are widely distributed in most landfill leachates but at relatively low concentrations (<182.8 mg/L) compared to conventional parameters. Importantly, there is a distinct global variation in the occurrence of emerging environmental contaminants (ECs). Among these compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, 0.02-7.50 × 10³ μg/L) of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), bisphenol A (BPA, 0.01-33.46 × 10³ μg/L) belonged to endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), together with di-ethyltoluamide (DEET, 1.0-1.0 × 10³ μg/L) affiliated to pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are the most frequently detected in landfill leachates. Additionally, the microbial community compositions in most leachates are primarily dominated by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi, and some of their abundances are correlated with the concentrations of NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, Cl^-, Na⁺ and Cr. Notably, the leading microbes driving advanced removal of inorganic nitrogen in the treatment systems are Candidatus Brocadia (anammox), denitrifying Thauera, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria Nitrospira, along with ammonia-oxidizing bacteria Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira. The findings of this work provide a deeper insight into the leachate characteristics and the sustainable management of landfill leachates, especially presenting a snapshot of the global distribution of pollutants and also the microbiome.

Keywords: Emerging contaminants; Global distribution; Heavy metals; Microbial composition; Nitrogen turnover.