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Review
. 2022 Nov 14;8(11):e11562.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11562. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Panacea for the nanoplastic surge in Africa: A state-of-the-art review

Emmanuel Sunday Okeke  1   2   3   4 , Onome Ejeromedoghene  5   4 , Charles Izuma Addey  6   4 , Edidiong Okokon Atakpa  7   8   4 , Semiu Folaniyi Bello  9   4 , Timothy Prince Chidike Ezeorba  2 , Kingsley Ikechukwu Chukwudozie  10   4 , Charles Obinwanne Okoye  11   12   13   4
Affiliations
Review

Panacea for the nanoplastic surge in Africa: A state-of-the-art review

Emmanuel Sunday Okeke et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Africa is a large continent ranked amongst the top consumer of plastic materials. However, the improper handling of plastic wastes has resulted in massive pollution of different aspects of the environment (water, soil, sediments, air, food, etc.) within and around the region. The fragmentation and biodegradation of the bulk plastic material into small-sized particles has given rise to microplastic and nanoplastics. Owing to their small sizes, ease of transport, and large surface area, they tend to wreak serious havoc in the environment. Nevertheless, the growing awareness of the pollution problems caused by micro/nanoplastic debris is instrumental towards circumventing its widespread across the ecosystem. This review provides a state-of-the-art information on the prevailing nanoplastic surge across the borders of Africa, the ineffective management policies of plastic wastes, potential environmental hazards, and possible remediation strategies. Additionally, prospective insights into new areas for advanced research were highlighted.

Keywords: Africa; Environmental hazards; Microplastics; Nanoplastics; Paradigm shifts; Plastics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Plastics production (a), consumption (b), and waste generation (c) in top African countries from 2009-2015 adapted from Babayemi et al. (2019), and Ritchie and Roser (2018).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Nanoplastics separation and detection in different environmental matrices.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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