CALIFORNIA – The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), which collaborates with upwards of 600 grassroot groups and NGOs around the world, has published a new report which discredits the potential chemical recycling solutions hold within industry.
All Talk and No Recycling: An Investigation of the U.S. “Chemical Recycling” Industry looks at the scope for such solutions with the United States, and concludes that just three of 37 plastic chemical recycling facilities proposed since the early 2000s are operational, though none are successfully recovering plastic to produce virgin-grade new materials.
“In a society that urgently needs to transition from an extractive, fossil fuel economy to a circular one, chemical recycling is a distraction at best. Far more mature and viable solutions are to be found in upstream, zero waste strategies which focus on reducing the production and consumption of plastic,” the report’s authors say.
