Hydrocolloid capsules are common chemical carriers used in many types of applications in foods, biotechnology, and agriculture. Alginate microbeads and macrobeads are some of the more prevalent types of hydrocolloid capsules. Most studies to date have focused on alginate carrier applications but only a few have looked at their bioavailability after use. In this study, alginate carriers were subjected to simulated field conditions and their biodegradation in the soil was evaluated by respiration measurements, visualization, and volatile solids reduction. Using respiration rate, the degradation rate was calculated at 32 AE 3.1% (w/w) after 2 months. The visually estimated volume and volatile solids reduction gave degradation rates of 40 AE 8.6% (v/v) and 22.5 AE 2.5% (w/w), respectively. Moreover, water-loss calculations suggested that the carriers can serve as a stand-alone soil amendment for water retention. These findings emphasize the importance of studying hydrocolloid bioavailability in the soil and alginate carrier suitability for future applications.

Rapid increases in human population and per‐capita waste production have resulted in accelerated growth in the size and number of landfills. We propose that microbiota within landfills can contribute to a better understanding of the Anthropocene thus far. Because landfills are characterized by conditions that are uncommon in natural, non‐anthropogenic environments, they present a novel, rapidly growing, and essentially unstudied ecological system. Anthropogenic impacts may lead to unique adaptations in resident microbial communities, resulting in novel assemblages, activities, and features that differ from those in natural environments. Modern tools like molecular and bioinformatic techniques allow scientists to characterize these communities in unprecedented detail. A nuanced understanding of the adaptations, such as novel degradation abilities, that arise from such unusual selection pressures could facilitate improvements in bioremediation. Furthermore, similarities between landfill formation and geological deposition processes suggest that landfills will be preserved in future geological records and, consequently, may be suitable for dating anthropogenic influences at the local scale. Studying landfill microbiomes could therefore help to define the Anthropocene and reveal its consequences.

Microbial fuel cell experimentation using waste streams is an increasingly popular field of study. One obstacle to comparing studies has been the lack of consistent conventions for reporting results such that meta-analysis can be used for large groups of experiments. Here, 134 unique microbial fuel cell experiments using waste substrates were compiled for analysis. Findings include that coulombic efficiency correlates positively with volumetric power density (p < 0.001), negatively with working volume (p < 0.05), and positively with percentage removal of chemical oxygen demand (p < 0.005). Power density in mW/m correlates positively with chemical oxygen demand loading (p < 0.005), and positively with maximum open-circuit voltage (p < 0.05). Finally, single-chamber versus double-chamber reactor configurations differ significantly in maximum open-circuit voltage (p < 0.005). Multiple linear regression to predict either power density or maximum open-circuit voltage produced no significant models due to the amount of multicollinearity between predictor variables. Results indicate that statistically relevant conclusions can be drawn from large microbial fuel cell datasets. Recommendations for future consistency in reporting results following a MIAMFCE convention (Minimum Information About a Microbial Fuel Cell Experiment) are included.