According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one-third of the
food produced globally for human consumption is lost within the food supply chain. In
many countries, food and agricultural wastes are dumped in landfills. Plastic wastes
from agriculture have become a major concern, especially with increasing pollution
associated with the microplastics and nanoplastics in the ocean and marine ecosystem.
Microbial biodegradation of the agricultural wastes and the conversion into valueadded products could meet the economic and environmental demands to reduce land
pollution, whilst benefiting from the generated products. Furthermore, energy together
with other combustible municipal wastes can be recovered. Food wastes have attracted
much interest for conversion into bioenergy such as biogas, hydrogen, ethanol, and
biodiesel, and the residues are further used as animal feed or fertilizer. This review
highlights the use of plastics in agriculture, their disposal, and degradation. Factors
affecting biodegradation are also discussed. The production of bioenergy from agrowaste and food waste is elaborated.
Keywords: Agricultural waste, Biodiesel, Biogas, Chitosan, Degradation, Ethanol, Food waste, Hydrogen, Valuable products.
