Waste plastics include PP (polypropylene), high and low density polyethylene (HDPE & LDPE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), constitute an important part of the waste generated worldwide. For a long time, scientists have looking to address this issue. Research is still in its early stages, but it appears to be a viable route towards both waste reduction and the production of value added materials such as quantum dots, nanosheets, nanoparticles, nanorods, nanospheres, nanotubes, etc. To eliminate dangerous contaminants from wastewater, i.e., dyes, heavy metals, pesticides, poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using carbonaceous products, this review examined the synthesis, characterization, and remediation processes. Synthesis procedures includes soft mechano-chemical pathway, co-precipitation, fuel-oxide assisted combustion method, chemical vapour deposition, spray-pyrolysis, micro-emulsion, PWD (pulsed-wire-discharge), sol-gel method, and hydrothermal processes. TGA (Thermogravimetric analysis), XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and 2 point probe electrical resistivity are the methods used to characterize carbon nanomaterials. Wastewater remediation includes advanced oxidation process, flocculation, sedimentation, bioretention and use of carbon nanoparticles. In order to realize the zerowaste concept, the synthesis of carbon nanoparticles from waste plastic using low energy processes and environmentally friendly benign resources was reviewed.