Microplastic in the marine ecosystem is the foremost research hotspot in terms of plastic waste's detrimental impacts. Recycling plastic waste is the utmost research topic in terms of plastic waste management. Plastic pollutants derived from plastic waste contaminate the environment and ultimately pose risks to human health. Current measures aimed at reducing the plastic waste ended in the environment via recycling and emphasized its retention of the material value via circular economy. However, these measures did not prioritize taking direct action to mitigate the threats to human health. This review aims to bridge these two research ends of plastic waste that provide a holistic view of this problematic issue. The keywords analysis function in VOSviewer is adopted in this study to map out the state-of-the-art of existing research in plastic waste. Four research mainstreams are highlighted: (i) Environmental concerns of plastic waste in aquatic ecosystems, (ⅱ) potential threats to human health, (ⅲ) plastic waste reduction options and recycling methods, and (ⅳ) plastic waste thermochemical treatment. Consequently, a future research agenda is proposed.
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