The global wastewater surge demands constructed wetlands (CWs) to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); yet the pollutant removal interactions and global sustainability of small CWs are unclear. This study synthesizes small CW data from 364 sites worldwide. The removal efficiency of organic matter and nutrient pollutants of small CWs had a 75th percentile of 68.8–84.0%. Bivariate analysis found consistent synergies between pollutant removals, lasting 3–12 years. The optimal thresholds for maintaining the synergistic effects were as follows: area size—17587 m², hydraulic loading rate—0.45 m/d, hydraulic retention time—8.2 days, and temperature—20.2 °C. When considering the co-benefits and sustainability of small CWs for multi-pollutants control, promoting small-scale CWs could be an effective and sustainable solution for managing diverse wastewater pollutants while simultaneously minimizing land requirements. This solution holds the potential to address the challenges posed by global water scarcity resulting from wastewater discharge and water pollution.

全球废水激增需要人工湿地 (CW) 来实现联合国可持续发展目标 (SDG)；然而，小型化学武器的污染物去除相互作用和全球可持续性尚不清楚。这项研究综合了来自全球 364 个站点的小型 CW 数据。小型污水处理厂对有机物和营养物污染物的去除效率在 75% 范围内为 68.8%~84.0%。双变量分析发现污染物去除之间存在一致的协同效应，可持续 3-12 年。维持协同效应的最佳阈值如下：面积大小—17587 m ² 、水力加载速率—0.45 m/d、水力停留时间—8.2 d、温度—20.2 ℃。当考虑小型化武对多污染物控制的协同效益和可持续性时，推广小型化武可能是管理多种废水污染物的有效且可持续的解决方案，同时最大限度地减少土地需求。该解决方案有可能解决因废水排放和水污染而导致的全球水资源短缺的挑战。