REPORT | Chemical Recycling: A Dangerous Deception
October 2023 | Beyond Plastics & International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN)
Chemical recycling — or what the industry likes to call “advanced recycling” — is increasingly touted as a solution to the plastic waste problem, but a landmark new report from Beyond Plastics and IPEN shows this technology hasn’t worked for decades, it’s still failing, and it threatens the environment, the climate, human health, and environmental justice. This comprehensive report features an investigation of all 11 constructed chemical recycling facilities in the United States, their output, their financial backing, and their contribution to environmental pollution.
The petrochemical and plastics industries have been aggressively working across America to pass state laws that reclassify chemical recycling facilities as manufacturing rather than waste facilities, which reduces regulation of these polluting plants and allows the companies to grab more public subsidies. As of this report’s release, 24 states have passed such laws. Just like mechanical recycling, chemical recycling is an industry marketing tactic to distract from the real solution to the plastic problem: reducing how much plastic is produced in the first place.
Deregulating and incentivizing chemical recycling is a dangerous trend with environmental and human health repercussions, though it’s not surprising when you consider how little information is publicly available about what chemical recycling actually does, how it does it, who it affects, how little plastic it removes from the waste stream, and how little product is actually produced.
This report unmasks chemical recycling’s history of failure, its lack of viability, and its harms so that others, especially lawmakers and regulators, can see this pseudo-solution for what it is: smoke and mirrors.
INDUSTRY UPDATES
WM buys Fulcrum BioEnergy site in Nevada via bankruptcy process | WasteDive | 12/12/2024
Fulcrum BioEnergy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection | WasteDive | 9/10/2024
Fulcrum BioEnergy’s Nevada plant sued for more than $2M in missed payments to contractors | WasteDive | 8/26/2024
Company scraps plans for Indiana plastics-to-fuel plant near Chicago | Oil & Gas Watch | 7/22/2024
Another chemical recycling plant closure offers ‘flashing red light’ to nascent industry | EHN | 6/27/2024
Fulcrum BioEnergy shutters Nevada waste-to-SAF facility, CEO departs | WasteDive | 6/5/2024
A Breakthrough In Plastic Recycling Is Coming Up Short | New York Times | 4/4/24
Agilyx, AmSty lost $4.5 million in polystyrene chemical recycling JV since 2021 | Sustainable Plastics | 3/7/24
PureCycle: “It Looks As Bad As It Smells” | Bleeker Street Research | 11/15/23
70%+ of Americans Concerned about “Chemical Recycling” | Oceana | 11/8/23
Fulcrum BioEnergy misses payment on NV bonds; IN project may be on hold | Waste Dive | 11/7/23
GET THE REPORT & OTHER KEY DOCUMENTS
Watch the 10/31/2023 News Conference (if you have any issues with the embedded video, use this link.)
WATCH THE NOVEMBER 28, 2023 WEBINAR
Watch the recording of the educational webinar on Tuesday, November 28 at 7:00 PM ET with report author, Lee Bell of IPEN and contributors, Judith Enck and Jennifer Congdon of Beyond Plastics.
TAKE ACTION
Join us in urging the U.S. Congress to reject chemical recycling and push for true solutions to our plastic pollution crisis.
Please join us in urging your members of Congress to say “no” to ineffective, polluting chemical recycling and take action to support effective solutions by co-sponsoring the newly reintroduced Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023. Fill out the form below to email your members of Congress directly. If you have any difficulty accessing the petition form below, please click here to add your name.
NEWS COVERAGE
Houston's plastic waste, waiting more than a year for "advanced" recycling, piles up at a business failed 3 times by fire marshal | CBS News & Inside Climate News | 8/24/2024
Report Documents Problems With Chemical Recycling | Media Sanctuary | 11/3/2023
Chemical recycling won’t fix plastic waste problem, new report says | Chemical & Engineering News | 11/2/2023
A new report calls chemical recycling a ‘dangerous deception’ — and a former plastic lobbyist agrees | Grist | 11/1/202
Report slams chemical recycling as ‘dangerous and dirty’ | Greenwire | 11/1/2023
Beyond Plastics report slams chemical recycling as a ‘dangerous deception’ | Waste Dive | 11/1/2023
Report says chemical recycling isn’t viable; ACC disagrees | Canadian Plastics | 11/1/2023
Dumped, Not Recycled? Electronic Tracking Raises Questions About Houston’s Drive to Repurpose a Full Range of Plastics | Inside Climate News | 11/1/2023
Unproven “Advanced Recycling” Facilities Have Received Millions in Public Subsidies | The Intercept | 10/31/2023
Chemical recycling “a dangerous deception” for solving plastic pollution: Report | Environmental Health News | 10/31/2023
New Report Calls Out Chemical Recycling as a ‘False Solution’ to the Plastics Crisis | DeSmog | 10/31/2023
MORE RESOURCES
REPORT: Chemical Recycling: A False Promise for the Ohio River Valley | Ohio River Valley Institute | July 2024
MEMO: The Fraud of Advanced Recycling | Center for Climate Integrity | April 2024
ISSUE BRIEF: Recycling Lies: “Chemical Recycling” of Plastic Is Just Greenwashing Incineration | NRDC | February 2022
FACT SHEET: “Chemical Recycling” Is Not Recycling: The Plastic Industry Is Greenwashing Incineration | NRDC | September 2022
FACT SHEET: El “Reciclaje Químico” No Es Reciclaje: La Industria Del Plástico Hace Un “Lavado Verde” (Greenwashing) Acerca De La Incineración | NRDC | Septiembre 2022