Potential and challenges of recycled polymer plastics and natural waste materials for additive manufacturing

Global warming and climate change have emerged as pressing issues closely associated with human activity and the manufacturing sector, significantly contributing to climate change. Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing (3DP), shows great promise as an alternative manufacturing method but raises concerns regarding plastic waste generation. To tackle this challenge, recycling polymer plastics and exploring natural waste materials for 3DP offer sustainable solutions. However, a comprehensive understanding of both aspects currently needs to be improved. This study aims to evaluate the current trends and advancements in sustainable biocomposites research, identify key topics and emerging areas of interest, investigate the recycling of waste materials for 3DP, assess commonly recycled polymer plastics, examine the thermomechanical properties of sustainable composites, and identify research gaps for future directions. The analysis involved collecting and evaluating 91 articles from the Scopus database. The findings underline the growing demand for sustainable approaches, the potential of recycled polymer plastics and natural waste materials, and the need to improve mechanical properties. Stakeholders are encouraged to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices and embrace circular economy models by utilizing recycled polymer composites and waste materials to produce biodegradable polymer composites. Future research should explore advanced 3DP methods to enhance mechanical properties, thereby contributing to sustainable manufacturing practices and addressing the challenges of climate change.