Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40508763›Full record

ReviewPolymers2025

Sustainable Solutions for Plastic Waste Mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Future Perspectives Review.

Comfort Yeboaa, Emmanuel Kweinor Tetteh, Martha Noro Chollom, Sudesh Rathilal

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Polymers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Comfort YeboaaGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-8917-4220
Emmanuel Kweinor TettehGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-1400-7847
Martha Noro ChollomGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-6345-4614
Sudesh RathilalGreen Engineering Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4677-5309

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Indexed as

biodegradationbioremediationfungimicrobesplasticsSub-Saharan Africa

Identifiers

PMID40508763
PMCPMC12157109

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.