Where does chemical recycling sit in the waste management hierarchy?

Whether chemical recycling should be considered “recycling” under various laws or the waste management hierarchy is a subject of sometimes intense debate. This is in part because using chemical recycling to process waste plastic can produce a wide range of outputs, with uses ranging from building blocks for new polymers, chemicals, waxes and lubricants, or even fuels.

Perhaps the most important point is that both mechanical and chemical recycling help society achieve greater circularity by making new products without the use of new virgin carbon as feedstock. Additionally, the outputs of both processes recover used plastic in order to avoid disposal through less desirable landfilling or combustion pathways. 

We posit that the fractions of chemical recycling outputs that are transparently traced and used to produce new polymer, chemical or other non-polymer products should be thought of as “recycled” because they offset the use of virgin feedstock. However, outputs which are used to produce a fuel are more properly described as “recovered” since it is the energy value that is recovered for a one-way use as a fuel.

In any event, it is important to understand that all production from chemical recycling – whether under “recovered” or “recycled” – is a compliment to other forms of recycling and provides a beneficial outcome by reducing use of virgin feedstock and avoiding either combustion or landfill disposal.