Microbial consortia degrade several widely used organic UV filters, but a number of hydrophobic filters remain recalcitrant to biodegradation.

Organic UV filters are important ingredients in many personal care products, including sunscreens. Evaluating the biodegradability of organic UV filters is key to estimate their recalcitrance and environmental fate and thus central to their overall environmental risk assessment. In order to further understand the degradation process, the aim was to investigate whether specific consortia could degrade certain UV filters.