<p> This study investigates and compares the efficiency of photocatalytic degradation of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films using nanomaterial catalysts—titanium dioxide (TiO₂), zinc oxide (ZnO), and silicon dioxide (SiO₂)—in a controlled photochemical reactor. The effects of key operational parameters, including the light source ultraviolet (UV) and visible (VIS), catalyst loading percentage, pH, and exposure time, were systematically evaluated to identify the conditions yielding maximum photodegradation efficiency. Significant physicochemical, morphological, and molecular structural alterations were observed in all LDPE–nanocatalyst composites following 288&#xa0;h of irradiation. Kinetic analysis revealed that the photocatalytic degradation process follows a first-order kinetic model, with the rate of degradation strongly influenced by both the light source and the pH of the reaction medium. The maximum photodegradation was observed for LDPE-TiO_{2 UV}, LDPE-ZnO _VIS and LDPE-SiO_{2 VIS} films at pH 4, 9 and 11 with a degradation rate of 9.25, 7.21 and 5.32%, respectively. Based on the results, it is concluded that the photo-degradation occurs in order of TiO_{2 UV} &gt; ZnO _VIS &gt; SiO_{2 VIS} &gt; TiO_{2 VIS} &gt; ZnO _UV &gt; SiO_{2 UV}, respectively. Additionally, the intermediate compounds of LDPE nanocomposite (LDPE-TiO_{2 UV}, LDPE-ZnO _VIS and LDPE-SiO_{2 VIS}) were determined with more than 60% abundance of 6-dimethyldecahydronaphthalene, acetophenone and p-methyl benzaldehyde. These compounds are primarily used as a resource material for the manufacturing of chemical drugs, solvents, stabilizers, solvents. Thus, it showed an insight to convert waste plastics into secondary resource materials and reduce the plastic pollution from ambient environment.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>