Various recycling technologies have been developed to deal with plastic problems, but they face considerable economic and technological challenges in practice. An attractive alternative is upcycling, which aims to dig out the embedded value to incentivize large-scale valorization of plastic wastes. The degradation of nonrecoverable plastic wastes is another necessity to treat the omnipresent pollution. This review presents an overview on the conversion of plastic wastes toward value-added products and the catalytic degradation of nonrecoverable plastic wastes. Based on an examination of traditional recycling technologies and products, we summarize the state-of-the-art design and development of plastic conversion to high-value and high-performance fuels, chemicals, and materials. Subsequently, we highlight the advances in catalytic degradation of plastics to environmentally benign or degradable products and mineralization into carbon dioxide and water. We conclude with our perspective on the ongoing challenge and opportunities.

已经开发了各种回收技术来处理塑料问题，但它们在实践中面临着相当大的经济和技术挑战。一个有吸引力的替代方案是升级回收，旨在挖掘内在价值以激励塑料废物的大规模增值。不可回收的塑料废物的降解是处理无处不在的污染的另一个必要条件。本综述概述了塑料废物向增值产品的转化以及不可回收塑料废物的催化降解。在考察传统回收技术和产品的基础上，我们总结了将塑料转化为高价值和高性能燃料、化学品和材料的最先进设计和开发。随后，我们重点介绍了在将塑料催化降解成对环境无害或可降解的产品以及矿化成二氧化碳和水方面的进展。我们总结了我们对持续挑战和机遇的看法。