Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste: Current Environmental Pollution, Health Hazard and Biodegradation Strategies and Its Management

This review paper surveys the scope of global plastic pollution, covering environmental contamination, health hazards, and biodegradation strategies. The study highlights that with plastic production exceeding 390 million tons by 2021, effective waste management and biodegradation approaches are urgently needed to address microplastic accumulation.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review: Investigation of Plastics Effect on the Environment, Bioplastic Global Market Share and Its Future Perspectives

This review covers the environmental and human health impacts of plastics, with a focus on microplastics and nanoplastics, and reviews global trends in bioplastic production as an alternative. It finds that while bioplastics show promise, current production scale is far too small to address the existing plastic pollution crisis.

2019 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution and Potential Solutions

This review provides a broad overview of plastic pollution, covering the full lifecycle from manufacturing through disposal and environmental degradation. Researchers note that of the 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic ever produced, roughly 79% has ended up in landfills or the natural environment, where it breaks down into micro- and nanoplastics that persist for centuries. The study discusses potential solutions including improved recycling, biodegradable alternatives, and policy interventions to reduce plastic waste.

2018 Science Progress 608 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste Management: Global Facts, Challenges and Solutions

This review summarised global statistics and challenges in plastic waste management, noting that most plastic waste ends up in landfill, with recycling remaining the least implemented disposal method. The authors highlighted that plastic degradation in terrestrial and aquatic environments produces microplastics that can enter human bodies through the food chain, skin-contact products, and bottled water, and outlined current and emerging solutions to the global plastic waste crisis.

2020 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Plastic Production, Environmental Impacts, and Sustainable Remediation Strategies: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review traces global plastic production from 1950 to 2025, documenting the exponential growth in output and associated waste, and evaluating remediation strategies including mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, biodegradation, and emerging alternatives.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Integrated approaches for plastic waste management

This review surveys the full spectrum of approaches — recycling, biodegradation by microbes, and chemical or physical treatment — for managing the enormous global volume of plastic waste that otherwise persists in the environment for hundreds of years. The authors argue that no single method is sufficient and that an integrated strategy combining multiple techniques is needed to prevent plastics from fragmenting into environmentally harmful microplastics. The review provides a useful overview for policymakers and researchers looking to reduce plastic pollution at scale.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Global Plastic Waste Pollution Challenges and Management

This review examines the global plastic waste crisis, highlighting that over 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste have been generated and only 9% recycled, with microplastics now detected even in remote Arctic regions and in food consumed by humans. The authors discuss the environmental and health consequences of plastic pollution and argue for urgent action including alternative energy recovery and circular economy approaches to reduce plastic accumulation.

2019 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste: Challenges and Opportunities to Mitigate Pollution and Effective Management

Researchers reviewed plastic waste generation and management strategies globally, identifying lack of technical skills, inadequate recycling infrastructure, and poor regulatory awareness as the main barriers to addressing the ~400 million tons of plastic produced annually.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research 706 citations
Article Tier 2

Current practices of plastic waste management, environmental impacts, and potential alternatives for reducing pollution and improving management

Researchers analyzed global plastic waste generation, management practices, and environmental impacts, warning that plastic production could exceed 650 million tons by 2050 — a more than 22,000% increase since 1950. The study highlights alternatives such as bioplastics, glass, and bamboo, along with waste-to-energy conversion, as promising paths toward reducing plastic pollution's serious health and environmental harms.

2024 Heliyon 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic solid waste management strategies: An overview of implications on environment and health

This review provides an overview of plastic solid waste management strategies, examining the environmental implications of different disposal pathways — landfill, incineration, recycling, and biological treatment — alongside emerging approaches including chemical recycling and biodegradable substitutes. The authors assess trade-offs between these strategies and identify policy frameworks that could accelerate the transition to more circular plastic management.

2024 Journal of Community Service in Science and Engineering (JoCSE) 1 citations
Review Tier 2

A critical review on plastic waste life cycle assessment and management: Challenges, research gaps, and future perspectives

This review examines the full environmental impact of plastics from production through disposal, noting that life cycle assessments often produce unexpected results when comparing bio-based and petroleum-based plastics. A major gap exists because microplastic pollution is not yet factored into these environmental assessments, despite growing evidence of its ecological harm.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 137 citations
Article Tier 2

The future of plastic

Researchers examine whether biodegradable polymers can solve plastic's environmental crisis, noting that while plastic is enormously useful, society's heavy reliance on it has created a global pollution problem that biodegradable alternatives alone are unlikely to fully resolve.

2018 Nature Communications 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances and challenges in sustainable management of plastic waste using biodegradation approach

This review provides a comprehensive overview of plastic biodegradation as a sustainable strategy for managing plastic waste accumulation. Researchers surveyed recent breakthroughs in identifying microorganisms and enzymes capable of breaking down various plastic polymers under relatively mild conditions. The study highlights that while biodegradation shows promise as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional waste management, significant challenges remain in scaling these approaches for practical application.

2023 Bioresource Technology 90 citations
Article Tier 2

Are bioplastics the solution to the plastic pollution problem?

This review examines whether bioplastics can meaningfully reduce plastic pollution, concluding that while bioplastics offer some advantages, they are not a straightforward solution because many require industrial composting conditions and their environmental benefits depend heavily on end-of-life management.

2023 PLoS Biology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Plastic Waste Processing Methods

This review summarizes global plastic waste production and recycling trends, arguing that the recycling industry must scale up urgently to address growing environmental contamination. Current recycling rates remain far below what is needed to prevent plastic pollution from continuing to accumulate.

2020 TEM Journal 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of biodegradable plastic and their environmental impacts: A revie

This review examines the environmental impacts of conventional petroleum-based plastics and evaluates biodegradable alternatives made from plant-based and other organic materials. Researchers found that while bioplastics show promise for reducing long-term pollution, their degradation rates vary significantly depending on environmental conditions. The study emphasizes that switching to biodegradable plastics alone is not enough without proper waste management infrastructure.

2024 World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 7 citations
Article Tier 2

A State of Art and Prospects of Plastic Solid Waste Management

This review provides a comprehensive overview of plastic solid waste management methods, from recycling to incineration to landfill. Better waste management practices are essential for reducing the amount of plastic that breaks down into microplastics in the environment.

2021 Energy Technologies & Resource Saving 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Wasted Bioplastics

This paper provides a broad overview of bioplastics — materials made from renewable biological sources — discussing their potential as a partial solution to global plastic pollution and the complexity of their biodegradability. While microplastic accumulation in oceans is mentioned as context for the urgency of the problem, the paper's focus is on bioplastic production and biodegradation rather than microplastic health or environmental impacts.

2023 World Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic accumulation during COVID-19: call for another pandemic; bioplastic a step towards this challenge?

Researchers reviewed the surge in single-use plastic waste driven by COVID-19 personal protective equipment and evaluated bioplastics as an alternative, concluding that while bioplastics have limitations, transitioning toward them alongside circular economy waste management and policy intervention is essential to prevent plastic pollution from compounding pandemic-era environmental pressures.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Plastic Pollution on the Environment and Application of Multidimensional Degradation Technology

This review examines plastic pollution from production through environmental fate, describing how the durability that makes plastics commercially valuable also drives global contamination, and surveys multidimensional degradation technologies including photodegradation, biodegradation, and combined strategies for managing plastic waste. The authors assess both current industry practices and emerging approaches for reducing plastic accumulation.

2024 Environment and Climate Protection
Article Tier 2

Benefits and Drawbacks of Bioplastic as an Alternative of Conventional Plastic towards Sustainable Plastic T

This review examines bioplastics derived from renewable biomass sources (such as corn starch, vegetable oils, and food waste) as sustainable alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics, evaluating their benefits and drawbacks across environmental performance, biodegradability, and scalability. The article explores whether bioplastics represent a viable pathway toward more sustainable plastic use given growing concerns over the non-biodegradable nature and resource intensity of conventional plastics.

2024 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRIWORLD
Article Tier 2

The planet in the clutches of plastic garbage: myths, reality, prospects

This review examines the life cycle of polymeric materials to analyze sources and accumulation of plastic waste, discussing the micro- and nanoscale fragmentation problem and arguing that solutions must include ecologically safe technologies for recycling, combustion, and landfill disposal of polymeric waste.

2025 Priroda
Article Tier 2

Chemical-Physical Characterization of Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics in View of Identifying Suitable Recycling/Recovery Strategies and Numerical Modeling of PLA Pyrolysis

Researchers characterized several bio-based and biodegradable polymer alternatives to conventional plastics using chemical-physical methods, assessing their suitability for industrial composting and identifying challenges in managing these bioplastics in the existing waste stream.

2023 Waste and Biomass Valorization 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Why have we not yet solved the challenge of plastic degradation by biological means?

This review explores why biological plastic degradation remains unsolved despite decades of research, examining the limitations of microbial and enzymatic approaches and arguing that complementary strategies combining multiple methods will be needed.

2023 PLoS Biology 39 citations