Advanced Recycling

Remaking Plastics to
Meet Sustainability Goals

Advanced recycling creates new top-quality products out of used

plastics, reducing our reliance on natural resources and allowing
Plastic makers us to remake “hard-to-recycle” plastics.

are embracing Major plastic companies are revising their business models and
sustainable production processes to take advantage of advanced recycling
technologies. We’re committed to recovering and remaking plastics
change and a again and again.
new way to Who benefits? Everyone. Consumers eager to support sustainability.
make plastics. Companies that want to make packaging and products out of
recycled materials. And the environment by relying on used plastics
instead of natural resources.

Impact: Game Changer

What’s the upshot of advanced plastics recycling? With proper support, these technologies can scale,
Plastics that once ended up in landfills and incinerators potentially doubling the plastics recycling rate in the U.S.
now can be remade and stay in productive use. Films, and Canada, according to the Closed Loop Fund.
foams, pouches, tubes, and more can be remade and
remain in our economy and out of our environment.

plasticmakers.org
 Advancing the Circular Economy

EPA: “A circular economy… recaptures ‘waste’ as a resource To achieve this, America’s recycling infrastructure needs a refresh.
to manufacture new materials and products.” For plastics, that We’re doing a decent job recycling boxes, bottles, and cans,
means recovering and reusing plastics as a resource for new but it has been difficult to recover all the new types of lightweight
products. Reuse – don’t discard. plastic packaging, such as plastic film and pouches.

Advanced recycling technologies can change that...

and create a new life cycle for used plastics.

A decade ago, technology providers set out to convert hard- Today, these technologies focus on creating a circular
to-recycle used plastics into fuel. Technologies and the world economy in which used plastics are remade into new products
have changed since then. Some companies still use these that can be remade again and again. These technologies help
technologies to create fuel, but that is considered recovery, create high-quality plastics that can even be used in medical,
not recycling. pharmaceutical, and food applications – virtually any plastic
product or packaging.

Innovative Technologies
Advanced recycling is a broad umbrella term – also called chemical recycling or molecular recycling – that
refers to several different technologies that purify or break down plastic waste into its constituent building
blocks, which can then be used to create new products.

Three Common Advanced Recycling Technologies

Pyrolysis Gasification Depolymerization

Used plastics are heated in the absence of Used plastics are heated in an oxygen-controlled Used plastics are broken into smaller molecules
oxygen until thermally decomposed, then atmosphere and converted into syngas that is (such as monomers) that can be used to make
condensed into valuable materials. then converted into valuable materials. multiple valuable products. Includes solvolysis,
methanolysis, and glycolysis technologies.

Not Incineration O2
Incineration refers to destroying waste materials by burning.
During advanced recycling technologies such as pyrolysis,
Pyrolysis = Combustion
thermal energy (heat) is used in the absence of oxygen, so
No Oxygen Needs Oxygen
there is no combustion. This means plastics are not burned
during advanced recycling. Instead, plastics are broken Pyrolysis breaks Combustion
down into their building blocks to form new feedstocks for polymers into oxidizes organic
plastics and chemicals, waxes and other products. molecules of molecules and
significantly shorter creates carbon
chain length or dioxide, leaving
As a manufacturing process, there is a business incentive in monomers, which no viable product.
advanced recycling to preserve every molecule to reuse. are the building
blocks of plastics.

plasticmakers.org
 Comparable/Reduced Air Emissions Air Emissions
Like other manufacturing, advanced recycling facilities are
subject to the Clean Air Act and state and local authorities. Review of Average-sized Pyrolysis Facility
Compared to Familiar Facilities
They also need to obtain operating permits and continue
to monitor and report various air emissions as they operate. VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
≈ small food processing facility

A review of air emissions from advanced recycling facilities Particulates

≈ small food processing facility
that use pyrolysis found emissions to be about equal to or
lower than those from similar facilities such as food or auto
SO2 (sulfur dioxide) ≈ small hospital
making and institutions such as hospitals and colleges.
No measurable lead or dioxin emissions were identified.
NOx (nitrogen oxide) ≈ large university
Advanced recycling facilities that use pyrolysis can operate
efficiently under existing air quality regulations designed to CO (carbon monoxide)
protect the air we breathe. ≈ large car making facility

Who’s Using It? Advanced recycling produces virgin-quality plastic that is safe for food,
medical, and pharmaceutical packaging, so it can be used in virtually
any application where plastic is being used.

Building on their history of using traditional “mechanically” recycled

plastics, many global brands have incorporated advanced or
chemically recycled plastic into their products. Examples:

Nalgene and
Estee Lauder CamelBak Tupperware
water bottles

Herbal Essences
Wendy’s Warby Parker shampoo/
drink cups eyeglass frames conditioner
bottles

Clothing
Ethicon
Mattel brands such
medical device
playsets as Patagonia
packaging
and Zara

plasticmakers.org
 Advanced Recycling
1 of Our 5 Actions for Sustainable Change

Require plastic packaging Study the impact of greenhouse

1 in U.S. to be made from 30%
recycled plastics by 2030
4 gas emissions from all materials
to guide informed policy

Modernize regulations to
Establish an extended producer
2 help quickly scale advanced
recycling and accelerate a 5 responsibility system
circular economy for plastics

3 Develop national recycling

standards for plastics

In addition to investing in advanced recycling, The other Actions would require plastic packaging to
America’s plastic makers are calling on Congress contain up to 30% recycled plastics by 2030, create
to help accelerate progress toward a circular national standards for plastics recycling, use scientific
economy for plastics. Among other provisions, our 5 studies to compare the environmental footprint of
Actions for Sustainable Change calls for creating a materials, and raise private funding to update our
modern regulatory system that enables rapid scaling recycling systems. We’re working on both sides of the
of advanced recycling while continuing to grow aisle in the House and Senate on this plan to accelerate
mechanical recycling. a circular economy for plastics.

Advanced Recycling Can Why Is It “Advanced”?

Cut Waste and create Value.

Creates virgin-quality plastic for food, medical,

Companies striving to meet
and pharmaceutical packaging applications.
sustainability goals will have
access to a greater amount
and array of recycled plastics.

Can recycle hard-to-recycle and mixed plastics.

Communities around the globe

will be able to create value out of
Limits our use of natural resources to
used plastics rather than discarding
create new plastic.
them, as these technologies
become widely distributed.

Transitions plastic manufacturing from a linear

model to a circular model.
Plastics that once were landfilled
or littered can instead be remade
to boost local economies, create
jobs, and improve sustainability. Helps recycle more of the 90% of plastics that
aren’t recycled today.

plasticmakers.org
plasticmakers.org