Page 33 - Plastics News Issue May 2025
P. 33
ENVIRONMENT NEWS
ADVANCED RECYCLING ‘FALSE SOLUTION’
TO PLASTIC CRISIS, STUDY FINDS
A Environmental groups like Ocean Conservancy
new report is calling out "advanced re-
say we already know what works—using fewer
cycling"—also known as chemical recy-
cling—as a misleading solution to the
plastic waste problem. The Centre for Climate single-use plastics, improving existing recycling,
and cleaning up plastic waste. Chemical recy-
Integrity argues that this process is not as green cling, they argue, is expensive, inefficient, and
or effective as the plastics industry claims. harmful to health and the environment.
Unlike mechanical recycling, which physically However, the American Chemistry Council de-
shreds plastic into reusable bits, chemical re- fends chemical recycling, claiming it helps turn
cycling breaks plastics down with complex pro- old plastic into new products, reduces emis-
cesses. The industry promotes it as modern and sions, and saves resources. They say critics are
circular, but the report says it’s been around ignoring real progress and scientific advances.
since the 1950s and still hasn’t proven it can
work on a large scale. Meanwhile, public skepticism is high. A recent
poll showed most people are worried about the
The main concerns? It's highly energy-intensive, health risks and environmental impacts of chem-
creates toxic pollution, and doesn’t actually re- ical recycling—especially for communities living
duce the amount of new plastic being made. near these plants.
Critics say it's more of a PR move to delay real Source: Forbes
action than a genuine fix. The report claims com-
panies keep making promises about scaling up
these technologies, but technical and economic
problems hold them back.
May 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 33
