Plastic pollution is a persistent challenge worldwide with the first reports evidencing its impact on the living and nonliving components of the environment dating back more than half a century. The rising concerns regarding the immediate and long-term consequences of plastic matter entrainment into foods and water cannot be overemphasized in light of our pursuit of sustainability (in terms of food, water, environment, and our health). Hence, some schools of thought recommend the revisitation and continuous assessment of the plastic economy, while some call for the outright ban of plastic materials, demonstrating that plastic pollution requires, more than ever, renewed, innovative, and effective approaches for a holistic solution. In this paper, dozens of reports on various aspects of plastic pollution assessment are collated and reviewed, and the impact of plastic pollution on both the living and nonliving components of the environment is discussed. Current challenges and factors hindering efforts to mitigate plastic pollution are identified to inform the presented recommendations while underscoring, for policymakers, stakeholders, and the scientific community, the exigency of finding sustainable solutions to plastic pollution that not only encompass existing challenges but also future threats presented by plastic pollution.

The escalating global water crisis demands innovative solutions. This review highlights the transformative role of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in wastewater treatment, integrating green, scalable synthesis (e.g., mechanochemistry, continuous-flow, supercritical fluid methods) with advanced functionalization. It covers diverse pollutants, performance in real matrices, removal mechanisms, and practical deployment platforms. Key challenges and future directions are discussed, offering a roadmap toward sustainable, industrial-scale MOF applications for water purification.

Nature is a master engineer. From the bones of the tiniest bird to the sophisticated bioproduction of a spider’s web, the works of nature are an enigma to the scientific mind. In the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics, studying, understanding, and harnessing the intricacies of nature’s designs for the benefit of mankind is the bedrock of science and technology. One such exceptionally engineered natural material is the bamboo plant. This ancient vegetation has, over dozens of generations, reinvented itself as a legendary, resilient, ubiquitous, and impressive bioresource that is not just sustainable, but also ecologically and cheaply cultivatable, and invaluable for soil erosion control, while holding the enormous potential to be transmuted into various useful chemicals and materials. With the increasing concerns and obligations in rethinking the future of the environment, sequestration of carbon dioxide, reduction in timber usage, and preservation of already depleted non-renewable resources, it has become vital for environmentalists, governments, scientists, and other stakeholders to identify alternatives to fossil-based chemicals and their derivable materials that are sustainable without compromising efficiency. By coalescing engineering-, chemical-, and materials science-based approaches, including results from over 100 reports, we demonstrate that the bamboo plant presents enormous opportunities for sustainable chemicals and materials. In addition, we highlight the current challenges involving the optimization of bamboo-based technologies and provide recommendations for future studies.

Renewable agricultural biomass derived chemicals, their modifications and uses have seen multiplicity in numerous applications and important processes with major impacts on the pursuit for eco-sustainability. Such applications range include the energy sector, chemistry, pharmacy, the textile industry, paints and coatings, plastic industry, to name but a few. This field of lignocellulosic derived chemicals interconnects several scientific disciplines ranging from agriculture, biochemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, forestry, pharmacy, medicine, etc. hence making it difficult to have a single expert view on these complicated interactions. Therefore, the idea to create a focused review, specifically, on FA (an important furanic compound) is the main objective of this article. FA and its resultant derivatives exhibits an array of capabilities and fascinating properties in various fields of applications. As a compound or with co-reactants, it finds interesting applications as base and/or intermediate chemical compound, hypergolic rocket fuels, in flame resistant composites and coatings used in aerospace, auto, and the built environment; it also finds application as mortars, cementitious grouts, impregnating materials, and sealants due to its exceptional resistance to common corrosive chemicals such as acids, alkalis and other solvents when it is cross-linked. Coupled with its environmental and economic benefits FA has proved to be a remarkable eco-sustainable bio-derived compound.