The presentation will introduce to the audience the two new application fields of the non-equilibrium (low temperature) plasmas, which have been developed in the last two decades. These applications rely on the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) created in a gas discharge plasma, as well as on the RONS deposited into a liquid through plasma-liquid interaction. These applications drive our studies conducted on the surface-wave microwave discharge, which has several advantages regarding the tuning of RONS production. The presentation will focus on the operation modes of the free-standing atmospheric pressure surface-wave microwave discharge and that in contact with batch and flowing liquids. The evolution of the plasma characteristics when plasma brought in contact with the liquid will be also discussed.