Plastic Waste : "The real issue facing recycling is the lack of reliable access to quality feedstock"

What are the advantages of chemical recycling over mechanical recycling?

It’s not a question of whether chemical recycling is superior to mechanical recycling. Each technology has its advantages. Mechanical recycling has been around for decades and in that time they have become very good at what they do – processing clean, high-quality plastic waste into new products. Chemical recycling can serve a purpose in recycling plastics that are too complex, too contaminated, or in some other way inappropriate for a mechanical stream.

Do you see those two technologies as rivals?

Not at all. We see chemical recycling and mechanical recycling to be complementary to each other.

For more interviews on the topic click here!

Is chemical recycling economically feasible?

There is a huge economic opportunity based on the huge amount of plastic waste in the world. We see the interest in this industry in the number of both large and small players who are pursuing projects of all scales. Just like any nascent industry, there are some economic challenges with chemical recycling because the investment is not yet there. As companies start to more seriously fund these technologies and work to make advances in the feedstock supply chain the economics will become much more favorable.

How important is mixed waste sorting/pre-sorting for chemical recycling?

It depends on the product pathway that is being pursued. In a fully circular pathway such as polystyrene to polystyrene, pre-sorting is very important to ensure that your feed is compatible with your end goals.

How do you see the future of plastic recycling?

For plastic recycling to expand to a point that it can truly make a difference in our plastic waste problem, an equal focus will need to be made on sourcing and processing waste as is made on the conversion and purification technologies. The real issue facing recycling is the lack of reliable access to quality feedstock in order to feed recycling technologies of any kind. Recovery rates from material recovery facilities are only 10-15% and can be as low as 5% in some cities. Our joint venture, Cyclyx is working to build new supply chains that can feed the industry with a plastic waste feedstock that has been chemically fingerprinted, sorted, and blended into recipes to match the needs of converters, in both chemical and mechanical recycling spaces.

Want to stay up-to-date on our content? Subscribe to our newsletters!