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

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.