1. The properties of plastics make them highly useful for various purposes in modern life. But the impact of waste produced from the same is raising serious environmental concerns because most of the plastic in use are non-biodegradable. Though there are attempts to develop plastics that are eco-friendly, the production of the same is in the initial stages only. There is thus an urgent need for efficient methods for retrieval and reprocessing of different plastic types from the domestic and industrial waste to be recycled for further use. This review focuses on four major spectroscopic methods, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), Laser Induced Fluorescence spectroscopy (LIF), and Raman spectroscopy, highly suitable for the plastic identification and sorting because of their speed, specificity and need of only minimal human involvement for routine use. The present status of the application of these spectroscopic methods and their scope in developing an industry-oriented plastic sorting system for recycling of plastic waste is discussed.