The Devastation of Waste Plastic on the Environment and Remediation Processes: A Critical Review

Katleho Keneuwe Khoaele, Oluwatoyin Joseph Gbadeyan (), Viren Chunilall and Bruce Sithole
Additional contact information
Katleho Keneuwe Khoaele: Biorefinery Industry Development Facility, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Durban 4001, South Africa
Oluwatoyin Joseph Gbadeyan: Biorefinery Industry Development Facility, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Durban 4001, South Africa
Viren Chunilall: Biorefinery Industry Development Facility, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Durban 4001, South Africa
Bruce Sithole: School of Engineering, Discipline of Chemical Engineering, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: The devastating effect of plastic waste on the ecosystem due to the rapid increase in population has been a concern. Although stakeholders and governments invested in efforts to mitigate plastic waste, their exertions have limited to no effects as the demand for plastic increases annually. Emerging practical advancements in recycling plastic have been critical for achieving a sustainable circular economy. This study reviews the adverse effect of plastic waste on the environment and the inhabiting creature, the regulation for managing plastic waste, and their limitations. This scoping review also provides information on the current route for reducing plastic waste by defining its sources and their applications. After identifying the generation of plastic waste, the plastic polymers are categorized according to the hazard ranking of their monomers according to their environmental toxicity, damaging the inhabiting creature. The discharge pathways of plastic waste into the environment and aquatic systems leading to white pollution and climate change were also determined. Conversion of plastic waste through the remedial channel by manufacturing value-added products using techniques such as reusing, recycling, and energy recovery, reducing the disposal of plastic waste in landfills is outlined. The information on remedial processes provided in this study will help reduce plastic waste from the environment. In addition, correctly applying these suggestions may help reduce environmental pollution and the death of inhabiting creations. Further research is necessary to convert plastic waste as raw materials into high-value products to achieve a circular economy.

Keywords: plastic waste; environmental pollution; human health; circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/5233/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/5233/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:5233-:d:1098340

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().