MICROPLASTICS FROM MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT. wastewater metagenome

Microplastics (<5 mm) are a major and growing global pollution problem. Wastewater treatment plants, or water and resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), are suspected as a point source for microplastics, but the fate of microplastics during wastewater treatment is largely unknown. In this study, we estimated the microplastic load to WRRFs across the United States of America (USA). Further, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we evaluated the microbial biofilm colonizing the microplastic surface and identified the influence of wasterwater microbial community on biofilm formation.