Chemical recycling finds itself in the firing line as viability of process questioned

Chemical recycling, an alternative technology for reclaiming plastic waste, has been gaining traction in recent years. Sometimes called advanced recycling, this technology refers to processes that break plastics down into a range of chemicals, rather than simply mechanically breaking them apart for remoulding. Chemical recycling is still in its infancy though, and now a new report from two environmental groups claims that it is doomed to fail. But is this the whole story?

The Beyond Plastics and the International Pollutants Elimination Network’s (IPEN) report states that chemical recycling won’t work at scale and creates new and dangerous waste streams. The groups are now calling for a moratorium on new chemical recycling plants in the US. But some experts are warning that such calls are premature as the term covers many different technologies and they’re still finding their feet.

The new report examined the 11 chemical recycling facilities that exist in the US, looking at their contribution to environmental pollution. Its authors claim that chemical recycling processes insignificant amounts of plastic waste, and rarely yields recycled plastic. Their analysis also revealed that at least eight of these 11 facilities produce low quality fossil fuels.