Plastic waste (PW) is one of the most rapid-growing waste streams in municipal solid waste all over the world. India has become a global player in the plastic value chain. Despite low consumption, domestic generation and imports create a significant burden on the overall waste management system, which requires in-depth understanding of the scenario and pathways that can mitigate the crisis. Although Indian researchers have widely researched technology-related issues in academic papers, a substantial knowledge gap exists in understanding the problem’s depth and possible solutions. This review article focuses on current plastic production, consumption, and waste generation in India. This review article mainly analyzes data and information regarding Indian PW management and highlights some critical issues such as reverse supply chain, effective PW management, source-specific recovery, and PW rules in India. Comprehensively, this review will help to identify implementable strategies for policymakers and research opportunities for future researchers in holistic PW management and recycling in India, focusing on the circular economy and sustainable development goals.

Although high carbon martensitic steels are well known for their industrial utility in high abrasion and extreme operating environments, due to their hardness and strength, the compressive stability of their retained austenite, and the implications for the steels’ performance and potential uses, is not well understood. This article describes the first investigation at both the macro and nano scale of the compressive stability of retained austenite in high carbon martensitic steel. Using a combination of standard compression testing, X-ray diffraction, optical microstructure, electron backscattering diffraction imaging, electron probe micro-analysis, nano-indentation and micro-indentation measurements, we determined the mechanical stability of retained austenite and martensite in high carbon steel under compressive stress and identified the phase transformation mechanism, from the macro to the nano level. We found at the early stage of plastic deformation hexagonal close-packed (HCP) martensite formation dominates, while higher compression loads trigger body-centred tetragonal (BCT) martensite formation. The combination of this phase transformation and strain hardening led to an increase in the hardness of high carbon steel of around 30%. This comprehensive characterisation of stress induced phase transformation could enable the precise control of the microstructures of high carbon martensitic steels, and hence their properties.

Developments in recycling technology have largely focused on short-life-cycle products, such as plastic waste from packaging, consumer electronics, and construction debris, while complex, resource-rich, long-life-cycle electronic products, energy-storage, and photovoltaic components have been somewhat overlooked due to their intrinsic property of containing multimaterial in a complex manner. High-value products contain valuable elements, which are intricately incorporated and often lost at end of life. This article explores the need for a paradigm shift to a “product-centric” approach, which emphasizes the circularity of the whole product, with an emphasis on more focused ways of combining design and recovery methods. Opportunities for improved circularity include design for disassembly through modular approaches, development of materials for substitution, fabrication efficiency through novel selective synthesis of metals, high-throughput manufacturing of precision devices, and manufacturing processes that enable use of recycled materials for product. Design efforts should focus on current perceived limits in the degree of modularity, where parts can be made accessible for replacement and consumer uptake of recycled product. Graphical abstract