As plastics have been omnipresent in society ever since their introduction in 1907, global plastic production has ballooned in the 20th century or the Plasticene Era (Plastic Age). After their useful life span, they deliberately or accidentally, are disposed of in the environment. Influenced by different factors, plastics undergo fragmentation into microplastics (MPs) and present hazardous risks in all life forms including humans. Obliterating MPs from the environment has been a global challenge for the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs). This review aims to present MP degradation routes with a great focus on the thermodegradation and biodegradation routes as sustainable routes of MP degradation. These routes can achieve the reduction and obliteration of MPs in the environment, thus reducing their hazardous effects. Moreover, the thermodegradation of MPs can produce fuels that help solve the dilemma of energy security. Overall, continued research and development are still needed, however, these novel approaches and the increased awareness of the microplastics' hazards give us hope that we can achieve sustainable development in the near future.

As the demand for biofuels increases globally, microalgae offer a viable biomass feedstock to produce biofuel. With abundant sources of biomass in rural communities, these materials could be converted to biodiesel. Efforts are being done in order to pursue commercialization. However, its main usage is for other applications such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and aquaculture, which has a high return of investment. In the last 5 decades of algal research, cultivation to genetically engineered algae have been pursued in order to push algal biofuel commercialization. This will be beneficial to society, especially if coupled with a good government policy of algal biofuels and other by-products. Algal technology is a disruptive but complementary technology that will provide sustainability with regard to the world’s current issues. Commercialization of algal fuel is still a bottleneck and a challenge. Having a large production is technical feasible, but it is not economical as of now. Efforts for the cultivation and production of bio-oil are still ongoing and will continue to develop over time. The life cycle assessment methodology allows for a sustainable evaluation of the production of microalgae biomass to biodiesel.