AbstractThe constant release of complex mixture of pharmaceuticals, including antimicrobials and endocrine disruptors, has the potential to affect aquatic microbial metabolism and alter biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients. Here we advance the Tea Bag Index (TBI) for decomposition by using it in a series of contaminant exposure experiments testing how interactions between two human pharmaceuticals, the broad spectrum antibiotic trimethoprim and the artificial estrogen 17a-Ethinylestradiol (EE2), affects microbial activity in an aquatic system. The TBI is a citizen science tool used to test microbial activity by measuring the differential degradation of green and rooibos tea as proxies for labile and recalcitrant organic matter decomposition. Exposure to trimethoprim and EE2 had significant independent negative effects upon decomposition of labile organic matter (green tea), suggesting additive effects upon microbial activity. Exposure to EE2 alone negatively affected the degradation of more recalcitrant organic matter (rooibos tea). Consequently, trimethoprim and EE2 stabilized labile organic matter against microbial degradation and restricted degradation rates. We propose that the method outlined could provide a powerful tool for testing the impacts of multiple interacting pollutants upon microbial activity, at a range of scales, across aquatic systems and over biogeochemically relevant time scales.