TY - JOUR
AU - Igalavithana, Avanthi D.
AU - Yuan, Xiangzhou
AU - Attanayake, Chammi P.
AU - Wang, Shujun
AU - You, Siming
AU - Tsang, Daniel C.W.
AU - Nzihou, Ange
AU - Ok, Yong Sik
PY - 2022
DA - June
TI - Sustainable management of plastic wastes in COVID-19 pandemic: The biochar solution
JO - Environmental Research
VL - 212E
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113495
AB - To prevent the COVID-19 transmission, personal protective equipment (PPE) and packaging materials have been extensively used but often managed inappropriately, generating huge amount of plastic waste. In this review, we comprehensively discussed the plastic products utilized and the types and amounts of plastic waste generated since the outbreak of COVID-19, and reviewed the potential treatments for these plastic wastes. Upcycling of plastic waste into biochar was addressed from the perspectives of both environmental protection and practical applications, which can be verified as promising materials for environmental protections and energy storages. Moreover, novel upcycling of plastic waste into biochar is beneficial to mitigate the ubiquitous plastic pollution, avoiding harmful impacts on human and ecosystem through direct and indirect micro-/nano-plastic transmission routes, and achieving the sustainable plasticwaste managementfor value-added products, simultaneously. This suggests that the plastic waste could be treated as a valuable resource in an advanced and green manner.
PB - Elsevier
UR - http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/271138/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Environment, community and place
ER