Soil pollution constitutes one of the main threats to the health of soil ecosystems in Europe, in terms of complexity, toxicity and recalcitrance. There are about 2.8 million sites potentially contaminated, with 650,000 of them being identified as requiring remediation; among them, only 15% have been already treated [Status of local soil contamination in Europe: Revision of the indicator “Progress in the management Contaminated Sites in Europe” (No. JRC107508), 2018]. Recent estimates found that mineral oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), also commonly referred to as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), amount to an estimated mean value of 35% of all contaminants present in European soil. This percentage increase to 50% if BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) are included.