REVIEW article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1625561
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Marine Environmental Protection: Challenges, Solutions and Perspectives Volume IIView all 24 articles
Mechanical Recycling and Upcycling of Marine Macro-and Micro-Plastics: Technologies, Challenges, and Future Directions
Provisionally accepted
Ying Teng1,2
Yitao Zheng1,2Zheng Wang1*Zeping Wang1,2Heng Hu1Hao Zheng1
Jianli Duan1Yang Meng3,4Yun Zhou5Philip Hall1- 1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Ningbo, Ningbo, China
- 2Nottingham Ningbo China Beacons of Excellence Research and Innovation Centre, Ningbo, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, China
- 4Ningbo Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Pollution Control, CAS Haixi Industrial Technology Innovation Center in Beilun, Ningbo, China
- 5Ningbo Helong New Material Co., LTD, Ningbo, China
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The escalating issue of marine plastic pollution demands urgent and innovative solutions to mitigate its detrimental impacts on ecosystems, human health, and global economies. This paper provides a comprehensive review of mechanical recycling and upcycling technologies for marine macro-and microplastics, addressing the challenges and future directions in their sustainable management.The study systematically examines the processes of collection, cleaning, separation, and melt processing, highlighting advancements and limitations in current methodologies. Recent advancements in marine plastic recycling technologies have addressed the challenges of macroplastic collection and separation, further research into more cost-effective and scalable processes remains imperative for its recycling and upcycling. The recycling of microplastics is much more challenging because of the difficulties in efficient collection and separation. The comprehensive methodologies for the segregation of both macroplastics and microplastics were discussed. The policy framework and technical pathway for marine plastics management was proposed. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations for stakeholders, emphasizing the need for standardized monitoring, improved separation techniques, and global collaboration to combat marine plastic pollution effectively.
Keywords: Marine plastics, Mechanical recycling, upcycling, Upcycle plastic waste, Plastic waste treatment, sustainability, Microplastics
Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 18 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Teng, Zheng, Wang, Wang, Hu, Zheng, Duan, Meng, Zhou and Hall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zheng Wang, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, Ningbo, Ningbo, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.