This type of SW mainly consists of the following plastic resin types: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVC) (Miandad et al. However, the majority of PSW is generated from households and commercial sources, which combined, are referred to as municipal plastic waste (MPW). PSW can be categorised depending on its source or point of origin, i.e. Regardless, ~9.5% of the total plastic produced over the period from 1950–2015 has been recycled, while 12.5% has been incinerated and 78% is still discarded in landfills (Geyer et al. Various advances occurred within the past three decades in SW recycling and valorisation. PSW is bulkier than other organic refuse, thus occupies larger space in landfills. This leads to the accumulation of plastic commodities and articles as a major component in the solid waste (SW) stream. The associated cost of managing plastic solid waste (PSW) drives several countries and communities alike to discard it in open landfill sites. A global increase of plastics consumption is also noted with a rate of 4% per annum (Miandad et al. Production of plastics has increased drastically over the past century, from a mere 1.3 million tonnes in 1950 to >322 million tonnes in 2015 (PE 2016). This review aims to address the benefits of pyrolysis as a method for PSW treatment and raise the limitations and gaps of conducted research via an environmental standpoint. However, addressed limitations including initial assumptions, functional unit and system boundaries, as well as lack of regional database and exclusion of socio-economic aspects, may hinder the final decision. LCA appears to be the most appropriate tool for the process design from an environmental context. This is because such processes lead to the production of useful chemicals, or hydrocarbon oil of high calorific value (i.e. Thermochemical post-treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, seem to be the most appropriate method to treat this type of waste in an effective manner. The increasing amount of plastic solid waste (PSW) in landfills has raised serious concern worldwide for the most effective treatment. Over the past few decades, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been established as a critical tool for the evaluation of the environmental burdens of chemical processes and materials cycles.
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