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Chemical Recycling for Plastics?

Bloomberg recently reported that at least 60 chemical companies are “racing” to recycle plastics by essentially using chemistry to return them back to their original chemical components. If this is successful, it would allow plastic to be recycled in a way that is not dependent on the resin from which it is formed.

chemical recycling

The article notes that the companies recognized that mechanical recycling, the physical sorting of the resins is not working and that chemical recycling could lead to recycling rates of more than 50% by 2030 versus 12% now.

This is certainly a step forward in the recycling of plastics. Of course, it is these same companies that sold us the great variety of plastics in the first place without a single thought as to how they would be recycled. Further, what happens to the other 50% of the plastic that we do not reclaim.

I applaud the step forward…but it should be noted that this is really a panic reaction to stem the tide of anti-plastic legislation. Still, any step forward is a good step.

Read The Full Article Here:
The Unmaking of Plastic: These Companies are Trying to Reinvent Recycling

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