[Environmental scientists & microbiologists from China & EU: take the responsibility to cherish the Earth homeland].

Humanity shares the common interest to protect the environment and to maintain a healthy global ecosystem. International collaboration is key in this context, to advance the necessary science and technology. The National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and European Commission (EC) have agreed to collaborate in innovative knowledge and technology in the field of bioremediation of polluted environments and biodegradation of plastics. In this context, projects on bioremediation of soils, wastewater and sediment matrices and on microbial degradation of plastics were supported. This special issue aimed to introduce these projects and their progresses in the related fields. In total, 23 papers have been collected in this issue, covering both fundamental and applied researches.