Table 2. Summary of several plastic waste-based materials used in TENGs.

Waste materials	Integrated materials/surface treatment	TENG mode	Polarity of waste-derived layer	Current (µA)	Voltage (V)	Power density	Key findings	Application area	Ref.
PA-PVC, PA-PE, and PVC-PE	—	Contact-separation	Positive	5.85, 4.71, and 2.45	35.7, 27.3, and 14.8	152.6, 98.2, and 22.5 mW m−2	PA-PVC-TENG demonstrates better performance	LED	51
WPB	PTFE	Contact-separation	—	34.1	251	1.57 µW cm−2	Enables strain detection without external power source	Power devices and functional sensor devices	52
PVC	Nylon	Contact-separation	Negative	3.1	31	11.9 mW m−2	Enables self-powered Morse code communication system	Morse code generator, LED	53
PVC waste pipe	Nylon, ZnO	Contact-separation	—	12.4	392	726.3 µW cm−2	Improved performance by adding ZnO nanoparticles to enhance piezoelectric properties	Wearable energy harvesting, automatic switches, and invisible sensors	54
Wood-plastic composite	Teflon	Contact-separation	—	30	31	107 µW m−2	Can power around 80 LEDs and portable electronic devices	Energy-harvesting devices	55
Polystyrene	PTFE	Contact-separation	Positive	52	250	4.05 W m−2	Good stability up to 20 000 cycles and 180 days	IoT and smart sensing systems	56
Polystyrene	Al	Contact-separation	Positive	67	690	28 W m−2	Spray-coated PS showed best performance	Charging capacitors, powering calculator, running remote controlled car	57
Polystyrene	Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)	Contact-separation	—	12	200	77 mW m−2	Performance comparable to advanced piezoelectric fluoropolymers	Environmental remediation	58
PET bottles	Trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane	Contact-separation	Positive	9.4	67.7	5 W m−2	Soft, flexible, porous, and structurally durable material	Environmental remediation	59
PET bottles	PBAT, Cu	Contact-separation	Negative	∼25	∼250	16 µW cm−2	Harvest sufficient energy to illuminate up to 100 LEDs	Robotics, automobile industries, tire motion monitoring in rovers and aerospace electronics	60
Plastic water bottle	Graphite	Contact-separation	Positive	101	83.88	26.54 µW cm−2	Converts biomechanical energy into electricity	Self-powered portable electronics	61
PTFE plastic waste bottle	Al	Contact-separation	Positive	45	1400	300 µW cm−2	Good charge retention and fast response	Charging capacitors, powering calculator	62
Polybags, food wrappers, grocery bags and plastic bottles	Al, PU foam	Contact-separation	Positive	289 nA	44	3.2 mW m−2	Effectively harvests biomechanical energy to power	Dynamic force sensor and various household application	63
PTFE (waste plastic coffee cup)	Super P conductive carbon black, polyvinylidene fluoride, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone	Contact-separation	Positive	2.5	—	0.61 1.57 mW cm−2	Effectively supports sustainable, self-powered, and IoT-enabled technologies	Self-powered sensors and internet of things systems	64