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The utilization of plastics has now become a threat to the environment as it generates microplastic particles (<5 mm in size). The increasing studies on the occurrence of microplastics in different environmental compartments have raised concern about the potential effects on ecosystems and living organisms. Of these, numerous studies are focused on marine environments. The occurrence of microplastics is recently extended to the freshwater environments, including river systems, streams, lakes, pond, creek, and estuarine rivers. This paper overviews the current knowledge and research findings on the occurrence of microplastics in water, sediment, and fish in freshwater environments. The review also covers the adopted methodology and impacts of microplastics to the ecosystem. Future perspectives are discussed as well in this review.

Landfill leachate, which is a complicated organic sewage water, presents substantial dangers to human health and the environment if not properly handled. Electrochemical technology has arisen as a promising strategy for effectively mitigating contaminants in landfill leachate. In this comprehensive review, we explore various theoretical and practical aspects of methods for treating landfill leachate. This exploration includes examining their performance, mechanisms, applications, associated challenges, existing issues, and potential strategies for enhancement, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness. In addition, this critique provides a comparative investigation between these treatment approaches and the utilization of diverse kinds of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) in terms of their effectiveness in treating landfill leachate and generating power. The examination of these technologies also extends to their use in diverse global contexts, providing insights into operational parameters and regional variations. This extensive assessment serves the primary goal of assisting researchers in understanding the optimal methods for treating landfill leachate and comparing them to different types of MFCs. It offers a valuable resource for the large-scale design and implementation of processes that ensure both the safe treatment of landfill leachate and the generation of electricity. The review not only provides an overview of the current state of landfill leachate treatment but also identifies key challenges and sets the stage for future research directions, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and effective solutions in the management of this critical environmental issue.

Plastic debris floating on surface water has now become an environmental issues concerning its abundance and fate. Generally, plastic debris that are fragmented into less than 5 mm in size is known as microplastics (MP). To date, discovery on the occurrence and impacts of MP in marine environments have been reported by many studies. However, less investigation has been carried out in freshwater environments. The occurrence of MP in Malaysia is also unknown. Thus, the present study has characterised the abundance of MP between Skudai and Tebrau River. The quantification of MP levels in these channels are pertinent since both rivers are listed among polluted rivers in Malaysia with high amount of rubbish. Surface sediments were collected with a box corer and MP were extracted via density separation. The inspection of particles was carried out under microscope and were categorized based on shape, colour, and size. Preliminary results showed that the concentration of MP was much higher in Tebrau than of Skudai River. The study demonstrates that the abundance of MPs in both urban rivers may possibly be affected by weathering breakdown of large plastic materials since these locations are well-known for fishing and industrial areas.

Sungai Tampok and Sungai Sanglang located in Johor thrives in terms of aquaculture industry. Since most of the villagers are fisherman, the aim of this study is to determine heavy metals on cockles (Anadara granosa), and seawater. Cockles were collected from four stations at Sungai Tampok on 26th December 2016, 16th March 2017. Meanwhile, cockles from Sungai Sanglang were collected from three sampling stations on 11th January to 26th March 2017. The samples were then analysed for cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr). Water samples were also collected from the same location as cockle sampling stations. Cd and Cr in seawater were above Class 3 based on Marine Water Quality Criteria and Standard showing that the area is unsuitable for marine aquaculture, aquatic life and fishing activities. Accumulation of heavy metals on cockle also exceeded the Malaysian Food Regulation (1985).

Metals concentrations (As, Cd, Cu, Hg and Pb) in seawater, sediment and the seagrass ( Enhalus acoroides ) were analysed at Pulai River estuary, Johor Straits, Malaysia. In this research, Enhalus acoroides was used in order to find it’s efficiency in up taking metals with a role in phytoremediation. Seawater, sediment and Enhalus acoroides samples were collected, and data of Pearson’s correlation coefficients were analysed using SPSS 16 software. Results show that lead levels were the highest metal content in Enhalus acoroides (202 ± 102 μg/gDW), seawater (268 ± 190 μg/L) and sediment (248 ± 218 μg/gDW), compared to other metals. There was a positive correlation for metal concentrations between Enhalus acoroides and sediment, but no correlation was found between Enhalus acoroides with seawater at estuarine area may be caused by inconsistent metal concentrations in seawater due to the influences of tidal changes and stormy waves. This indicates that Enhalus acoroides is a species possessing the capabilities to uptake metals from sediment, and suitable to act as both a phytoremediator and biomonitor in estuarine ecosystems due to sharp sensitivity to variation in the environment.

Untreated landfill leachate can harm the environment and human health due to its organic debris, heavy metals, and nitrogen molecules like ammonia. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have emerged as a promising technology for treating landfill leachate and generating energy. However, high concentrations of total ammonia–nitrogen (TAN), which includes both ammonia and the ammonium ion, can impede MFC performance. Therefore, maintaining an adequate TAN concentration is crucial, as both excess and insufficient levels can reduce power generation. To evaluate the worldwide research on MFCs using landfill leachate as a substrate, bibliometric analysis was conducted to assess publication output, author-country co-authorship, and author keyword co-occurrence. Scopus and Web of Science retrieved 98 journal articles on this topic during 2011–2022; 18 were specifically evaluated and analysed for MFC ammonia inhibition. The results showed that research on MFC using landfill leachate as a substrate began in 2011, and the number of related papers has consistently increased every 2 years, totaling 4060 references. China, India, and the USA accounted for approximately 60% of all global publications, while the remaining 40% was contributed by 70 other countries/territories. Chongqing University emerged as one of the top contributors among this subject’s ten most productive universities. Most studies found that maintaining TAN concentrations in the 400–800 mg L −1 in MFC operation produced good power density, pollution elimination, and microbial acclimatization. However, the database has few articles on MFC and landfill leachate; MFC ammonia inhibition remains the main factor impacting system performance. This bibliographic analysis provides excellent references and future research directions, highlighting the current limitations of MFC research in this area.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have garnered attention in bio-electrochemical leachate treatment systems. The most common forms of inorganic ammonia nitrogen are ammonium ( NH 4 + ) and free ammonia. Anaerobic digestion can be inhibited in both direct (changes in environmental conditions, such as fluctuations in temperature or pH, can indirectly hinder microbial activity and the efficiency of the digestion process) and indirect (inadequate nutrient levels, or other conditions that indirectly compromise the microbial community’s ability to carry out anaerobic digestion effectively) ways by both kinds. The performance of a double-chamber MFC system—composed of an anodic chamber, a cathode chamber with fixed biofilm carriers (carbon felt material), and a Nafion 117 exchange membrane is examined in this work to determine the impact of ammonium nitrogen ( NH 4 - N ) inhibition. MFCs may hold up to 100 mL of fluid. Therefore, the bacteria involved were analysed using 16S rRNA . At room temperature, with a concentration of 800 mg L −1 of ammonium nitrogen and 13,225 mg L −1 of chemical oxygen demand (COD), the study produced a considerable power density of 234 mWm −3 . It was found that NH 4 - N concentrations above 800 mg L −1 have an inhibitory influence on power output and treatment effectiveness. Multiple routes removed the most nitrogen ( NH 4 + -N: 87.11  ±  0.7%, NO 2 – N: 93.17  ±  0.2% and TN: 75.24  ±  0.3%). Results from sequencing indicate that the anode is home to a rich microbial community, with anammox (6%), denitrifying (6.4%), and electrogenic bacteria (18.2%) making up the bulk of the population. Microbial fuel cells can efficiently and cost-effectively execute anammox, a green nitrogen removal process, in landfill leachate.

Sustainable development becomes the significant tool of planning and design of building structures and infrastructures in this decade. The land use development for neighbourhood construction should be protected from being overused and devastated. Malaysia must starts to incorporate sustainable neighbourhood planning and design so that the future generation can be benefited from this type of development. However less focus is being paid to this type of development which needs attention to be given especially on small-scale green areas. The main concern of this paper is to address the practice of sustainable neighbourhood planning and design in Malaysia as it gives much impact to the living environment of a group of community. The issues pertaining Malaysian sustainable development planning and sustainable neighbourhood design were discussed in this paper. Results from the Malaysian Local Council Structure Plan review were discussed to highlight the sustainable neighbourhood importance. The result indicates that the sustainable neighbourhood planning and design in Malaysia needs to be improved over the current practices to create more environmental-friendly neighbourhood.