How do chemical recycling technology processes differ from mechanical recycling?

Mechanical recycling is the more widely known form of recycling in which used plastics are collected, sorted and separated by type, shredded, washed, and then put through an extrusion process to generate pellets. Those pellets are then sold to companies that use them either alone or mixed with traditional polymers to create new plastic articles. The types of plastic resins that are most widely recycled are PET (#1), used in beverage and soda bottles, and HDPE (#2), used in milk jugs and detergent containers. 

Chemical  recycling also uses source-separated plastic feedstock or the non-recyclable fraction from mechanical recycling systems. However, rather than extruding them to create pellets, a more intense process is used to change the essential chemical makeup of the plastic. The process includes applying heat, solvent, or other intervention to convert, break, or dissolve the plastic back into its original building block components, either as a liquid or gas. In many cases, a wider range of plastic resin, including many types of packaging, cannot be recycled in current systems and can often be processed using chemical recycling (such as flexible film packaging, chip bags, candy wrappers, pouches, industrial pallet wrap, and more). These materials can then be sold into a variety of production p