Chapter 4: Recycling and Recovery Pathways for Solid Plastic Waste in the Context of Sustainable Environment

People's use of plastic products generates a massive amount of plastic waste. Landfills and the ecosystem are experiencing a simultaneous rise in the build-up of ubiquitous and persistent waste plastic. One of the most significant problems facing modern society worldwide is the increase in plastic garbage. Incinerators, landfills, and open burning are waste disposal strategies that cost money and emit greenhouse gases. The petrochemical industry has developed many polymers that improve human welfare. However, improper disposal of outdated plastics has caused trash, threatening wildlife, polluting the environment, and wasting resources. The growing problem of plastic litter has sparked interest in recycling. Reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions through recycling helps conserve the environment and natural resources for future generations. Sorbent material, chemicals, fuels, oil, and ash can be obtained in many ways. Solid plastic waste (SPW) presents both opportunities and challenges to civilisations, regardless of technology or environmental consciousness. Latest SPW recovery and recycling developments are covered in this chapter. We focus on polyolefinic waste, which makes up a large amount of our single-life cycle plastics. In this post, we also covered the problems caused by inappropriate plastic waste processing and how to protect the environment and decrease climate change, which threatens life. We thoroughly describe the four SPW treatment methods: primary (re-extrusion), secondary (mechanical), tertiary (chemical), and quaternary (energy recovery).