At present, plastic
waste accumulation has been observed as one
of the most alarming environmental challenges, affecting all forms
of life, economy, and natural ecosystems, worldwide. The overproduction
of plastic materials is mainly due to human population explosion as
well as extraordinary proliferation in the global economy accompanied
by global productivity. Under this threat, the development of benign
and green alternative solutions instead of traditional disposal methods
such as conversion of plastic waste materials into cherished carbonaceous
nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon quantum dots
(CQDs), graphene, activated carbon, and porous carbon is of utmost
importance. This critical review thoroughly summarizes the different
types of daily used plastics, their types, properties, ways of accumulation
and their effect on the environment and human health, treatment of
waste materials, conversion of waste materials into carbon-based compounds
through different synthetic schemes, and their utilization in energy
storage devices particularly in supercapacitors, as well as future
perspectives. The main purpose of this review is to help the targeted
audience to design their futuristic study in this desired field by
providing information about the work done in the past few years.