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Sustainable Solutions for Plastic Waste Mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Future Perspectives Review
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This review examines plastic waste management challenges in sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid production and poor disposal have led to widespread contamination of air, water, and soil. The authors highlight bioremediation, using bacteria, fungi, and engineered microbes to break down plastics, as a promising solution for the region. The work matters because plastic waste in developing countries breaks down into microplastics that can enter drinking water and food, affecting the health of millions of people.
The anthropogenic deployment of plastic waste, especially petroleum-based plastics with toxic hydrocarbons, presents a significant environmental and health threat in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Herein, the high demand and rapid plastic production, coupled with improper disposal and inadequate waste management, have led to widespread contamination of air, water, and soil. Conventionally, plastic waste management, such as incineration and recycling, provides limited long-term solutions to this growing crisis. This necessitates urgent, sustainable, and eco-friendly remediation techniques to mitigate its far-reaching environmental implications. This comprehensive review focused on sustainable and eco-friendly techniques by exploring strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of plastic waste management. Bioremediation techniques were found as potential solutions for addressing plastic waste in SSA. This paper examines advancements in physiochemical methods, the challenges in managing various plastic types, and the role of enzymatic and microbial consortia in enhancing biodegradation. It also explores the potential of genomic technologies and engineered microbial systems to convert plastic waste into valuable products, including bioenergy via bio-upcycling. These bioremediation strategies align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), offering a promising path to reduce the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution in the region. This paper also considers future directions of integrating AI-powered recycling systems to facilitate the development of a circular economy in SSA. Additionally, this paper provides progress and future perspectives on bioremediation as a sustainable solution for plastic waste management in SSA.
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Plastic and Micro/Nanoplastic Pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges, Impacts, and Solutions
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This review documents the growing microplastic and nanoplastic pollution problem across sub-Saharan Africa, where rapid plastic use and poor waste management are creating significant contamination in waterways, sediments, and aquatic life. The harsh climate conditions in the region accelerate plastic breakdown into smaller, more dangerous particles. The pollution threatens food production, water quality, and public health in communities that often lack the resources to monitor or address the problem.
Eco‐Friendly Solutions to Emerging Contaminants: Unveiling the Potential of Bioremediation in Tackling Microplastic Pollution in Water
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This review examines bioremediation -- using microorganisms to break down microplastics in water -- as a greener alternative to costly physical and chemical removal methods. While certain bacteria and fungi show real promise in degrading plastics like polyethylene and polystyrene, challenges remain in scaling these approaches. Reducing microplastics in water is important because contaminated water is one of the main ways these particles reach humans.
Microbial and Enzymatic Strategies for Plastic Waste Biodegradation: Mechanistic Pathways, Environmental Challenges, and Emerging Biotechnological Strategies
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This review paper rounds up current science on using bacteria, fungi, and their enzymes to break down plastic waste instead of relying on burning or burying it, which can create toxic byproducts. This matters because plastics that don't fully break down often end up as microplastics in our water, food, and even our bodies, so finding safer, more effective ways to biodegrade plastic could help reduce that long-term exposure. The authors note that while lab results are promising, scaling these methods up for real-world use is still a major challenge.
Engineering a Solution: Recent Technological Advances in the Microbial Bioremediation of Microplastics
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This review examines recent advances in microbial bioremediation of microplastics, highlighting the limitations of conventional treatments and presenting biological alternatives using bacteria, fungi, and algae capable of degrading plastic polymers. The authors discuss key enzymatic mechanisms and the potential for scaling microbial approaches as sustainable remediation tools for plastic pollution.
Panacea for the nanoplastic surge in Africa: A state-of-the-art review
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This review examines the nanoplastic pollution crisis across Africa, where improper plastic waste management has led to widespread contamination of water, soil, sediments, air, and food from fragmented and biodegraded plastics. The review evaluates existing and emerging mitigation strategies and calls for region-specific policy and technological solutions to address the rapidly growing nanoplastic burden across the continent.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.