Plastic Consumption Research Articles

Valorising Cassava Peel Waste Into Plasticized Polyhydroxyalkanoates Blended with Polycaprolactone with Controllable Thermal and Mechanical Properties

Approximately 99% of plastics produced worldwide were produced by the petrochemical industry in 2019 and it is predicted that plastic consumption may double between 2023 and 2050. The use of biodegradable bioplastics represents an alternative solution to petroleum-based plastics. However, the production cost of biopolymers hinders their real-world use. The use of waste biomass as a primary carbon source for biopolymers may enable a cost-effective production of bioplastics whilst providing a solution to waste management towards a carbon–neutral and circular plastics economy. Here, we report for the first time the production of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with a controlled molar ratio of 2:1 3-hydroxybutyrate:3-hydroxvalerate (3HB:3HV) through an integrated pre-treatment and fermentation process followed by alkaline digestion of cassava peel waste, a renewable low-cost substrate, through Cupriavidus necator biotransformation. PHBV was subsequently melt blended with a biodegradable polymer, polycaprolactone (PCL), whereby the 30:70 (mol%) PHBV:PCL blend exhibited an excellent balance of mechanical properties and higher degradation temperatures than PHBV alone, thus providing enhanced stability and controllable properties. This work represents a potential environmental solution to waste management that can benefit cassava processing industries (or other crop processing industries) whilst developing new bioplastic materials that can be applied, for example, to packaging and biomedical engineering.Graphical

Investigating the Agricultural Use and Disposal of Plastics in Malta

The use of plastics in agriculture has become so omnipresent that it has acquired its own lexicon, and it is now known as “plasticulture”. However, since compared to other industries, plastic consumption in agriculture is low, little attention has been paid to this material and its eventual disposal. This disregard is evident within both local and international statistics and policies, despite the close connection its disposal bears to soil health, making correct disposal a prerequisite for improving the health and sustainability of food production processes. Using Malta as a case study, this research utilizes quantitative and qualitative tools to identify and quantify the most common types of agricultural plastic waste generated and to determine the attitudes of farmers towards the establishment of a collection and recycling scheme. While the results indicate that for 38% of respondents, the incineration and plowing of plastic waste are regular practices, they also ascertain the willingness of farmers to acquire additional knowledge about more appropriate methods to dispose of this waste stream, thus guiding policy makers towards the need to initiate educational measures for farmers to prevent these harmful practices. The stakeholder interviews highlight that the present lack of data is a major obstacle, preventing policy from taking this waste stream into account.

Micro(nano)plastics: invisible compounds with a visible impact

The plastic related research has been an epicentre in recent times. The presence and spread of micro (nano) plastics (MNPs) are well-known in the terrestrial and aquatic environment. However, the focus on the fate and remediation of MNP in soil and groundwater is limited. The fate and bioaccumulation of ingested MNPs remain unknown within the digestive tract of animals. There is also a significant knowledge gap in understanding the ubiquitous organic environmental pollutants with MNPs in biological systems. Reducing plastic consumption, improving waste management practices, and developing environmentally friendly alternatives are some of the key steps needed to address MNP pollution. For better handling and to protect the environment from these invisible substances, policymakers and researchers urgently need to monitor and map MNP contamination in soil and groundwater.

Material Characterizations of the Polymers Reinforced with Recycled Flexible Plastic Blends as Filament for 3D Printing

The high consumption of single-use plastics and the low recycling rates have seriously polluted the soil and ocean environments. Thermoplastic materials from recycling can be used to make filaments for 3D printing. This study is focused on preparing, characterizing, and comparing the polymers reinforced with recycled flexible plastic blends to be used as a filament in additive manufacturing. In this regard, two types of polymers were used to create the filament: High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP), which were mixed with recycled flexible plastic (RF). The mixture was initially used to create filament by using a single extrusion machine, with various ratios of virgin HDPE and PP to recycled flexible plastic (in weight%) at temperatures of 190°C and 230°C. Then, the filament blends were characterized using infrared (IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). TGA analyses revealed that RF can increase the thermal stability of V- HDPE and V-PP upon blending, and HDPE/RF blends show a higher decomposition temperature than PP/RF. FESEM indicated that adding 30% RF is the best percentage for both polymer blends where the structure appears ductile. It can be concluded that the HDPE 70% blend is suitable for 3D printer filament as it showed the best decomposition temperature and the ductility of the fracture structure, which meet the requirements for 3D printer filament.

A Systemic Circular Model for innovative sustainable recycling of thermoplastics

Sustainable recovery and recycling of plastics is becoming an increasingly important global issue. Waste from the plastics industry has seen an exponential increase, which is expected to continue in the future. Currently, the majority of the plastic waste generated is discarded and the gap between the amount of plastic waste discarded and incinerated compared to recycled is huge. Closing this gap requires addressing many systemic issues in the value chain through a more holistic, complex systems approach that better understands the different values, norms and behaviours intrinsic in patterns of relations between key stakeholders. Taking a complex systems perspective necessitates the advancement of new innovations and a more circular model for the recycling industry. It highlights specific innovations that provide disruptive ways to design and develop processes and products that go beyond traditional recycling technologies and systems to find new cost-competitive uses for plastic waste streams that are currently too expensive or not convenient to process. The work outlines a circular model for the plastics value chain to support these innovations. On the one hand, it focuses on increasing the level of global awareness and changing the mindset of society to move away from plastics and towards more innovative solutions. And on the other hand, it promotes legislation and financing that motivates companies in the plastics value chain to scale and grow these innovations. Such a circular model will not only ensure more sustainable production and consumption of plastics but provide a paradigm for addressing other global challenges.

P09 Lancashire and South Cumbria Critical Care Network Vancomycin Project

Abstract Background This project was a collaborative piece of work across a critical care network that included specialist advice from colleagues including aseptic/technically trained pharmacists and microbiology to optimize care for critical care patients in Lancashire and South Cumbria. We used several members of our workforce including pharmacists, nursing staff, microbiologists, rotational doctors and consultants to work towards a harmonized guideline. Methods During our initial meeting, we identified that different centres were using different glycopeptides and administering them differently: East Lancashire Hospitals (ELHT)—continuous vancomycin infusion; Blackpool Cardiac and Blackpool General—continuous vancomycin infusion, with no formal guideline in place but adopted from ELHT; Lancashire Teaching Hospitals—intermittent vancomycin infusions; and University Hospitals Morecambe Bay—teicoplanin is glycopeptide of choice. Our consultant microbiologist discussed the use of glycopeptides and what infections they are used for in critical care. The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin and the benefit of using a continuous infusion was also discussed. We decided to undertake a clinical audit of our vancomycin guidelines at ELHT to ensure that we had an evidence base to implement our guideline and provide assurance to the working group. We agreed to reconvene the working group after this audit was completed and after the concerns of colleagues had been addressed. Results and conclusions We presented the results of our audit and highlighted the opportunities harmonizing this guideline would provide. We discussed various scenarios such as stepping up from a ward protocol to a continuous infusion and the different methods of calculating creatinine clearance and if this would influence the first 24 h of the infusion. One comment was concerning the administration of vancomycin and the number of times nurses will be changing bags for patients requiring higher doses, i.e. the majority of patients would usually be on 3 g/day or more depending on concentrations. This would mean changing the bag more than twice a day; as much as there is a therapeutic benefit to continuous vancomycin infusions, considering the max. concentration for peripheral and central lines allows for larger volumes, it would be beneficial (except in fluid restricted cases) to have a slightly larger volume to reduce the number of bag changes and plastic consumption. We considered this comment and discussed it with our aseptic services lead pharmacist. We attended a meeting of the ICS Aseptics Working Party across Lancashire and South Cumbria. WE discussed the proposed guideline and requested that aseptic units across Lancashire and South Cumbria developed worksheets to manufacture 5 g in 600 mL or 10 g in 1.2 L for central use to stop breaking the line when changing a bag and reducing plastic consumption. We also met with critical care practice educators across the network to discuss how we can promote this guideline and ensure nursing staff and prescribers are aware of how to prescribe and administer continuous vancomycin infusions. One of our units noted that they have had a few incidents with incorrect concentrations of vancomycin being made up for patients. We developed an e-learning package to educate our workforce.

Odour characterisation of high-density polyethylene recycled with sepiolite by sensory evaluation

In recent years, the production and consumption of plastics has increased. This growth in production has resulted in an increasing amount of plastic waste, which is a global problem. Among plastics, high density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most widely used polymers in the packaging industry, so its waste is used in the recycling process. One of the main disadvantages of accepting recycled HDPE in production processes is its odour, which makes it impossible to use in production lines. The aim of this work is to reduce and/or eliminate the odours present in the HDPE samples selected for recycling through the use of sepiolites. FTIR analysis of the HDPE samples sent for recycling showed the presence of small amounts of polypropylene (PP), (PET), flexible polyurethane, dirt and adhesives, which could be the cause of the bad odour. Washing the sample showed a decrease in odour, probably due to the removal of dirt and other products that can lead to the degradation of the plastics responsible for the odour. The characterisation of the mixture of sepiolites and HDPE aims to analyse the mechanical and thermal stability of the sample. Not only can pre-washing lead to odour reduction, but also extrusion and injection processes at elevated temperatures can lead to the removal of volatile or semi-volatile compounds. Sensory analysis showed a reduction in odour in HDPE samples with sepiolites, particularly with 15% Pensil sepiolite, to the detriment of mechanical stability. At lower concentrations of sepiolite, the results are good from a sensory, mechanical and thermal point of view, which could mean an industrial application in the manufacture of benches, flower pots, etc.

Plastic Coarse Aggregates with Low- and High-Density Polyethylene with Improved Shore Durometer Hardness as Partial Replacement to Natural Coarse Aggregates

One of the issues in engineering field is the massive demand of natural aggregates in building, which in some areas causes shortages in supplies. While globally, increasing production and consumption of plastic, which takes decades to decompose, is among the main issues that humanity is now experiencing as the world progresses. In this study, plastics with improved Shore Durometer hardness was looked into as a partial substitution for natural coarse aggregates (NCA) in solving these problems. The LDPE/HDPE plastic coarse aggregates were developed using the best ratio of LDPE and HDPE plastics by melting, molding, and forming into 5mm, 10mm, and 15mm cubes. The gravel substitution volumetric were 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, and 10.0% of the concrete mixture, respectively. When the density of concrete, compression, flexure, and split tensile strength of concrete were examined, a 5% replacement with 10mm size produced the best results. A lighter-weight concrete is evident between the controlled sample and the experimental sample when the best size configuration and percentage replacement leading to a 2.97% difference. In general, the compressive strength and flexural strength of (plastic coarse aggregate) PCA-based specimen is 20.23% and 3.78% higher than that of the controlled specimen, respectively. However, it was found that the split-tensile was lower than the controlled specimen by 2.72%.

Will the Global Plastics Treaty break the plastic wave? The beginning of a long discussion road

Abstract We are experiencing the effects of the triple planetary crisis—climate change, loss of nature, and pollution—aggravated by plastic pollution. Despite widespread global awareness of the adverse effects of plastic pollution, its ongoing increase remains persistent, with an annual increase in plastic consumption and incorrect disposal contributing to this serious problem. In 2022, 175 nations agreed to begin negotiations by the end of 2024 on a binding international agreement to control the life cycle of plastics, including preventing marine pollution. To ensure the efficacy of the Global Plastics Treaty for mitigating plastic pollution, the extensive participation of researchers is imperative. The literature focuses on efforts in line with ongoing negotiations. In this study, a systematic review of the Global Plastics Treaty was conducted. The analyzed literature mainly focuses on the adverse effects of plastic pollution, legislation, governance, and the economy. The resulting comprehensive overview of the subject can support ongoing negotiations and guide future research about the Global Plastics Treaty.

Determination of circular economy targets based on absolute sustainability: A case study on plastics

Plastic production significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, making up around 4.5% of total emissions. As plastic consumption is expected to rise, it’s crucial to address the environmental impact of this industry urgently. Circular economy strategies, like recycling, are proposed solutions to reduce plastic’s carbon footprint. However, these strategies lack specific carbon footprint targets for plastics used in various applications. This study focuses on plastics in the automotive industry, establishing specific carbon footprint goals for plastics used in passenger cars. It also examines mechanical recycling’s role and the share of secondary plastics in meeting these absolute targets. The analysis of mechanical recycling technology reveals that even with 100% recycled plastics, the carbon footprint targets aren’t achieved due to high process energy consumption. Investigating grid emission factors, results show that meeting targets requires emission factors lower than 0.13 kgCO2-eq./kWh. Despite successful scenarios, it’s presently infeasible to use 100% recycled plastics in passenger car production. This necessitates the need to further improve plastic recycling technologies and increase the share of secondary plastics used in passenger car production.

Experimental Investigation on Plastic Aggregate and Silica Fume In Concrete

Plastic consumption is increasing on a daily basis, despite efforts to minimize it. On the other hand, the management of waste plastic was a significant issue in several countries around the world. A healthy and sustainable reuse of plastics has numerous benefits. The acceptability and benefits of recycled plastics as Coarse aggregate in concrete are explored here. Plastic aggregate parameters such as density and specific gravity were determined through tests. Because complete replacement of natural Coarse aggregate with plastic Coarse aggregate is impractical, partial replacement at various percentages was investigated. In addition to that silica fume is added as a binding material at a constant of 10%. The substitution of 15 Percent Plastic aggregate resulted in high compressive, splitting tensile, and flexural strength.

Recovery pathway assessment of recycled HDPE for circular economy: Shorter-life vs longer-life products

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) is a highly recyclable thermoplastic comprising 17% of all plastic produced. Yet, demand for recycled HDPE (r-HDPE) has outrun availability, partly due to manufacturers’ interest in meeting sustainability goals and recycled content mandates. Given that HDPE has a variety of uses, understanding optimal allocation of the constrained r-HDPE supply across product categories and lifespans will support the challenge of addressing broader sustainability goals and establishing circular economy (CE). By utilizing systems dynamic (SD) and life cycle analysis (LCA) modeling, this work studies whether prioritizing r-HDPE for longer-life products is more environmentally beneficial, compared to shorter-life products (e.g., food-grade packaging). Specifically, this work compares the production of milk containers and drainage pipes using virgin and r-HDPE as examples of HDPE applications through three scenarios. Key findings emerged from this study including the demonstration of a slight advantage to prioritizing allocating the constrained r-HDPE supply to the longer-life product vs the shorter-life product and a distinct challenge in hitting recycled content targets with current recycling rates and 2030 goals for the United States. This highlights a need to expand current recycling infrastructure in tandem with other CE practices to reduce plastic consumption and sustain environmental health for all.

Wonorejo mangrove indigenous bacteria: An insight into their potential as plastic-degrading agents

The use of bioplastic, such as polycaprolactone, to substitute conventional plastic remains a problem to solve. The bioplastic degradation time is still relatively low when compared to the rate of plastic consumption by the public. Therefore, exploration of indigenous bacteria with plastic-degrading potential is needed. This study aims to reveal the potential of indigenous bacteria isolated from Wonorejo Mangrove as plastic-degrading bacteria based on their growth in selective media and biofilm formation. Bacterial isolates obtained from water bodies and sediments of Wonorejo’s mangrove were inoculated on minimum salt media with the addition of 0.25% polycaprolactone as the sole carbon source and then incubated for four weeks to determine the bacterial growth based on its total number. The total number of bacteria was calculated by the direct counting method using a hemocytometer. The results indicated a slight decrease in the number of cells for each isolate. Isolate T1A.1 obtained from mangrove water samples encountered a decrease in the total number of bacteria by 2 times the initial number. Meanwhile, isolate T2.1, which was isolated from mangrove sediments, was decreased by 1.4 times from the initial number. However, the enumeration did not cover the cells that formed the biofilm, which was observed in this study. Based on the ability of the isolates to live in the minimum media and the biofilm formation indicated their potential as plastic-degrading agents, specifically for polycaprolactone. Identification and further studies of both isolates are needed to get a better insight into their potential as polycaprolactone-degrading agents.

The elemental fingerprint as a potential tool for tracking the fate of real-life model nanoplastics generated from plastic consumer products in environmental systems.

Metals and metalloids are widely used in producing plastic materials as fillers and pigments, which can be used to track the environmental fate of real-life nanoplastics in environmental and biological systems. Therefore, this study investigated the metal and metalloids concentrations and fingerprint in real-life model nanoplastics generated from new plastic products (NPP) and from environmentally aged ocean plastic fragments (NPO) using single particle-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-TOF-MS) and transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDX). The new plastic products include polypropylene straws (PPS), polyethylene terephthalate bottles (PETEB), white low-density polyethylene bags (LDPEB), and polystyrene foam shipping material (PSF). All real-life model nanoplastics contained metal and metalloids, including Si, Al, Sr, Ti, Fe, Ba, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cr, and were depleted in rare earth elements. Nanoplastics generated from the white LDPEB were rich in Ti-bearing particles, whereas those generated from PSF were rich in Cr, Ti, and Pb. The Ti/Fe in the LDPEB nanoplastics and the Cr/Fe in the PSF nanoplastics were higher than the corresponding ratios in natural soil nanoparticles (NNPs). The Si/Al ratio in the PSF nanoplastics was higher than in the NNPs, possibly due to silica-based fillers. The elemental ratio of Si/Al, Fe/Cr, and Fe/Ni in the nanoplastics derived from ocean plastic fragments was intermediate between the nanoplastics derived from real-life plastic products and NNPs, indicating a combined contribution from pigments and fillers used in plastics and from natural sources. This study provides a method to track real-life nanoplastics in controlled laboratory studies based on nanoplastic elemental fingerprints. It expands the realm of nanoplastics that can be followed based on their metallic signatures to all kinds of nanoplastics. Additionally, this study illustrates the importance of nanoplastics as a source of metals and metal-containing nanoparticles in the environment.

Exploring Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Single-Use Plastics in Lahore Workspaces

Plastics are solid, low-price and have become a vital part of our daily life. The plastic industry is growing continuously over the decades to satisfy the needs of growing population. About 40% of the plastics produced worldwide are single use plastic and their disposal is a significant hazard to the human health and environment. The current study focuses on the knowledge, attitude and practices of people towards plastic usage at different workplaces in Lahore. To investigate behavior and perception of plastic consumption an online survey was conducted from March to August 2021. Results suggested that people have good knowledge about the impacts of plastic on public as well as environmental health 90% of respondents knew plastic takes thousands of years to degrade, 91.5% of them knew plastic is hazardous for environment, they (87.8 %) agreed that plastic threatens aquatic life but they usually don’t practice it and show negligent attitude towards the use of plastic and its products. Like 54.8 % respondents use plastic bag to carry their lunch box and 32.5 % of them take tea/coffee in disposable plastic cup at their workplace. Similarly, 86.3 % people knew that heating plastic lunch box in microwave oven makes food cancerous but still majority (36.8 %) of them directly microwave their plastic lunch box. Hence, combination of sound policies and awareness may help to address the major environmental problem and may also help to reduce environmental pressure posed due to plastic pollution.

Fabrication of a System to Convert Waste Plastic into Fuel

The widespread use of plastics in numerous industries over the worldwide has expanded its output throughout time. The constant demand for plastics resulted in the piling of its garbage in landfills, which occupied a lot of space and contributed to the environmental disaster. Plastics consumption increased, resulting in the depletion of petroleum products which is a non-renewable fossil energy source, as plastics were petroleum-based materials. As a result, pyrolysis is offered as a tertiary recycling method. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of materials in the absence of oxygen at high temperatures (or an inert atmosphere). In the presence of heat, it is a chemical reaction process that includes the molecular breakdown of bigger molecules into smaller ones. Plastic trash pyrolysis might play an essential role in transforming this solid waste with high thermal energy into power and commercially expensive hydrocarbons that can be utilised as fuels or feed stock in the petrochemical sector. The composition of the plastic waste influences the end product yields and attributes. This work has unleashed the possibilities to obtain the fuel from the waste plastics, utilising the renewable resources with the temperature range of about 180-220 °C was achieved with our pyrolysis reactor. The fuel with different compositions of plastics were obtained through the pyrolysis method under the absence of the oxygen in a closely monitored environment obtaining a combustible fuel and later on, the fuel properties were tested and analysed with various trial and error methods.

Human exposure to micro- and nanoplastic: biological effects and health consequence

Microplastics and nanoplastics are significant contributors to pollution as a consequence of increased plastic manufacturing and consumption, which has resulted in a worldwide environmental crisis. These small plastic particles (microplastics and nanoplastics with diameters less than 5 mm respectively 100 nm) originate from a wide range of sources, including packings, synthetic textiles, personal care products, and medical and laboratory consumables. The environmental effects and potential health hazards linked with microplastics and nanoplastics exposure are addressed in this review. Research has demonstrated a link between these plastic particles and human digestive, reproductive, respiratory, endocrine and cardiovascular pathologies. Microplastics and nanoplastics have the potential to be chronically detrimental given that they accumulate in human tissues and organs and are small enough to slip through cell membranes. In hopes of fully comprehending the mechanisms of toxicity and long-term consequences of exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics on human health, further research is urgently required. Policies that reduce the production and consumption of plastics and improve waste management practices are essential to combating plastic pollution.

Microwaves assisted deconstruction of HDPE waste into structured carbon and hydrogen fuel using Al2O3-(Ni, Zn, Mg)Fe2O4 composite catalysts

Plastic waste management is becoming an issue of global concern due to the excessive consumption of plastics with one-time use. The decomposition of plastic into valuable products by catalytic pyrolysis has gained significant attention as a promising method of valorizing plastic waste. This paper demonstrates the microwave-assisted decomposition of plastic waste materials for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and high H2 production using magnetic-based catalysts via in-situ exsolution. Magnetic-based catalysts, namely Al2O3-NiFe2O4, Al2O3-ZnFe2O4, and Al2O3-MgFe2O4 were prepared using aluminum oxide, iron nitrate, zinc nitrate, and magnesium nitrate. CNTs and H2 were produced from the decomposition of wasted HDPE using the prepared catalysts. The Al2O3-NiFe2O4 catalyst showed better formation of CNTs and gas due to its low dielectric loss factor. The high surface area and magnetic-support interaction also promoted the catalytic activity of the catalyst. The oil byproduct mainly contained C8-C16 compounds, showing better selectivity for small molecules in the tested process. Conclusively, Al2O3-NiFe2O4 produced CNTs with good structural properties and fewer impurities than Al2O3-ZnFe2O4 and Al2O3-MgFe2O4 composites. The Al2O3-NiFe2O4 catalyst showed 90% hydrogen composition in evolved gases. In all cases, almost 90% of the hydrogen evolved from the feedstock within the first 2 min of the processing time.

Process development and techno-economic analysis for mechanochemical recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Chemical recycling of consumer plastics has garnered great attention recently towards achieving circular economy goals. Particularly in the case of PET waste, mechanochemical depolymerization in ball mill reactors has been identified as a very promising technology due to the high conversion rates achieved under mild conditions. While the absence of solvents in the reaction mixture reduces significant separation costs, mechanochemical depolymerization still presents challenges with respect to the efficient separation and purification of monomers. Thus, meticulous experiments, process modeling, and simulations are essential for demonstrating the separation and purification of monomers. In this study, we present the lab-scale separation process flow for the recovery of terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG) from mechanochemically depolymerized polyethylene terephthalate (PET). We additionally examine the use recycling of ideal PET powder and commercial samples (e.g., PET fibers, bottles, and food containers) as feedstocks. The process parameters are optimized to achieve 97 %+ of monomer recovery with 99 %+ purity. The complete recovery of EG, and recycling of process water enables a ‘zero-liquid discharge’ process design. Subsequently, we conduct a techno-economic analysis (TEA) to evaluate the economic potential of the proposed sequence, which resulted in a positive net present value (NPV) for the different scenarios and a minimum selling price (MSP) of $0.99/kg. Finally, we compare the economic potential of mechanochemical recycling of PET to fossil-based production and other recycling methodologies based on economic metrics.

Hydrothermal carbonization of plastic waste: A review of its potential in alternative energy applications

The significant rise in plastic consumption and waste generation, coupled with the urgent need for sustainable energy solutions, has led to innovative research seeking to convert plastic waste into valuable resources. This review focuses on the application of hydrothermal carbonization as a promising technique for transforming plastic waste into valuable products. It highlights the suitability of hydrothermal carbonization for plastic waste conversion, and presents recent reports showing promising results, prospects, and a range of potential hydrochar applications, including solid recovered fuels, catalysts, direct carbon fuel cells and supercapacitors. This review further presents the challenges in utilizing plastic hydrochar across different applications, which include feedstock variability, contamination, scalability, material properties, and environmental considerations. The need for optimized synthesis methods, stable performance, and long-term sustainability is also emphasized. The critical evaluation of the applications of hydrothermal carbonization can contribute to advancing sustainable waste management and renewable energy production.