{"id":1840,"date":"2023-03-15T12:41:12","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T16:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/georgia\/edfund\/resources\/chemical-recycling-what-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2023-03-28T19:09:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T23:09:09","slug":"chemical-recycling-what-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/georgia\/edfund\/resources\/chemical-recycling-what-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cChemical recycling\u201d: What you need to know."},"featured_media":46847,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[65],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[115,109,113],"class_list":["post-1840","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[115,109,185,113],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":65,"event_type":false,"campaigns":false,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":115}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"Chemical recycling is intended to convert plastic waste to fuel and new plastics. This is not a solution to the plastic waste crisis. It\u2019s not really even recycling. Here\u2019s what you need to know. ","featured_image":46847,"caption_override":"","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":16,"people":"137"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}},{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":41,"people":"105"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}},{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":3,"people":"102"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":null},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the first two decades of the 21<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> century, the amount of plastic waste generated across the world <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230213105009\/https:\/www.oecd.org\/environment\/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more than doubled<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Instead of embracing the only real solution \u2013 producing less plastic \u2013 the oil, gas and petrochemical industries have proposed their own answer, which they call \u201cchemical recycling.\u201d Chemical recycling is intended to convert plastic waste to fuel and new plastics. This is not a solution to the plastic waste crisis. It\u2019s not really even recycling. Here\u2019s what you need to know.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>What is \u201cchemical recycling\u201d?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cChemical recycling\u201d \u2013 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanchemistry.com\/chemistry-in-america\/news-trends\/blog-post\/2021\/what-is-advanced-recycling-and-why-is-it-so-important-for-meeting-the-growing-demand-for-recycled-plastics#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20way%20we,waxes%2C%20and%20other%20non%2Dfuel\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sometimes called<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cadvanced recycling\u201d by its proponents \u2013 is an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230306212728\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/CR-Technical-Assessment_June-2020_for-printing-1.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">umbrella term for a set of technologies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that convert plastic waste either into fuel or raw materials for new plastics.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The term covers <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230226221227\/https:\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-21-105317\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three broad types <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of technologies and processes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b>1. Conversion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (sometimes referred to as \u201cplastics-to-fuel\u201d) turns the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">polymers in plastic waste into smaller molecules that can be turned into fuel or used as feedstock for the creation of new products. Conversion is carried out via one of two main methods:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pyrolysis<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> subjects plastic waste to extreme heat in the absence of oxygen to create a synthetic crude oil that can be refined into diesel fuel, gasoline and other products.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gasification<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> uses extreme heat to convert plastic waste to synthesis gas: a fuel mixture mainly composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which can then be turned into other fuels or chemicals, such as ethanol and methanol.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<b>2. Decomposition <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">uses either heat or chemicals to break down polymers in plastic into monomers to produce new plastics. Chemical decomposition uses powerful solvents to do this. Some decomposition technologies use enzymes.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b>3. Purification <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">uses strong solvents to break plastic down into its chemical components and separate polymers from additives or contaminants. Unlike other types of chemical recycling, purification leaves the polymers themselves intact.<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>Where is this happening?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical recycling is still a new technology and there are few operational facilities. However, these technologies are in operation in various U.S. states.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of December 2022, there were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.oilandgaswatch.org\/post\/no-plastics-panacea-chemical-recycling-causes-pollution-promotes-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eight chemical recycling plants operating in the U.S., two under construction, and 12 more proposed but not yet under construction<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical industry trade group the American Chemistry Council (ACC)\u00a0advocates for the establishment of more than <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230306235506\/https:\/www.americanchemistry.com\/better-policy-regulation\/plastics\/advanced-recycling\/resources\/the-potential-economic-impact-of-advanced-recycling-and-recovery-facilities-in-the-united-states\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">150 new plants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the U.S.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost all the existing chemical recycling plants are <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230211062126\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/experts\/veena-singla\/chemical-recycling-plastic-burning-issue\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cplastics-to-fuel\u201d facilities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A 2022 analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) found that most of these facilities are effectively simply incinerating the plastic, not recycling it. The <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> highlights one polystyrene pyrolysis plant in Oregon, which, instead of producing new plastics, ships huge volumes of the styrene it produces to \u201cenergy recovery\u201d \u2013 i.e., to be burned to generate electricity.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>What\u2019s wrong with chemical recycling?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cChemical recycling\u201d is today mostly used as a new euphemism for an old and dirty practice: incineration. Plastics-to-fuel plants using pyrolysis or gasification do not turn plastic into new plastic, do not reduce demand for virgin plastics, and produce fossil fuels that are then burned, contributing to air pollution and global warming. According to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221127075946\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/house-democrats-fall-for-fossil-fuel-industry-greenwashing-scheme-chemical-recycling-in-climate-plan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (GAIA), \u201cThis is not recycling. It is an expensive and complicated way to burn fossil fuels.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even technologies that could in theory convert plastic waste to new plastics pose major threats to our environment and health:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Toxic emissions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Chemical recycling processes <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">emit toxic chemicals into the air<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including chemicals known to cause cancer, reproductive harm, birth defects and other health problems. State permit documents reviewed by the Environmental Integrity Project\u2019s Oil and Gas Watch show that chemical recycling plants could release <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230214212809\/https:\/news.oilandgaswatch.org\/post\/no-plastics-panacea-chemical-recycling-causes-pollution-promotes-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">96 different types of dangerous air pollutants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The NRDC similarly lists an array of toxic chemicals emitted by these facilities, including <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">benzene, mercury, arsenic and formaldehyde<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further pollutants are <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221015200059\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Questions-and-Answers_Chemical-Recycling.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">released<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when the fuel produced at these plants is burned.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Hazardous waste:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Liquid and solid waste produced by plastic-to-fuel facilities contains <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">toxic substances including carcinogens and neurotoxicants<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. One plant analyzed by the NRDC reported <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">producing almost 500,000 pounds of toxic waste in 2019<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most of which was transported offsite to be incinerated. The NRDC study indicates that solvent-based purification processes are no better. One company in Ohio intending to conduct solvent-based purification is registered as a \u201clarge-quantity hazardous waste generator,\u201d meaning it anticipates generating at least 2,200 pounds of hazardous waste per month.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate impacts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Since almost all plastic is made from oil or methane gas, fuels produced by plastic-to-fuel processes are still fossil fuels and therefore <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221015200059\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Questions-and-Answers_Chemical-Recycling.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">release greenhouse gases when burned, in addition to the emissions released during the conversion process itself<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Gasification generates especially large amounts of CO<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230307012850\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CR-Briefing_June-2020.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more than half of the carbon<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the plastic feedstock released during the process of cleaning and upgrading the gas produced, in addition to emissions produced from burning the end product and generating the energy needed to power the entire process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High energy use<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: All forms of chemical recycling require <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230307012850\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CR-Briefing_June-2020.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">massive amounts of energy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This energy may come from non-renewable sources, leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions, and even if it comes from renewable sources, is a huge waste of energy. More energy is needed to power the process than is produced by it, even if the product or by-products of the process are burned for energy, meaning that chemical recycling is <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230108181834\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CR-Technical-Assessment_June-2020.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not, nor is ever likely to be, self-sustaining<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This is true of both plastics-to-fuel and solvent-based processes.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bad economics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Chemical recycling is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230307012850\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/CR-Briefing_June-2020.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unlikely ever to be economically viable<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Its inability to be financially self-sustaining means that any large-scale rollout would likely have to rely on government subsidies that could be better used on things that provide actual societal value, including real solutions to the plastics crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1021\/acssuschemeng.2c05497\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2023 analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> concluded that using pyrolysis and gasification to produce plastic is between 10 and 100 times worse on environmental and economic metrics than virgin plastic.<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>Who is pushing for chemical recycling?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to GAIA, the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221015200059\/https:\/www.no-burn.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Questions-and-Answers_Chemical-Recycling.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">main proponents<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of chemical recycling are big oil and gas corporations, incineration firms, petrochemical companies and the trade groups representing them: for example, the \u201cAlliance to End Plastic Waste\u201d (which includes BASF, ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, Reliance Industries and Shell Oil), and the American Chemistry Council \u2013 the main lobbying arm of the chemical industry.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intensive industry lobbying has led to chemical recycling gaining traction among policymakers.<\/span><b><\/b>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 2017, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230213200346\/https:\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/industry-chemical-recycling-plastics-00073650\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20 states<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have passed laws that enable chemical recycling projects to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230213201638\/https:\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/environment-and-energy\/chemical-recycling-bills-gain-momentum-and-opposition-in-states\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">skirt current environmental regulations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, for example by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230214212809\/https:\/news.oilandgaswatch.org\/post\/no-plastics-panacea-chemical-recycling-causes-pollution-promotes-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">classifying chemical recycling plants as manufacturers rather than waste-handling facilities, defining chemical recycling as a form of actual recycling, or redefining waste or incineration processes to exclude chemical recycling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As of December 2022, similar laws are being debated in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230214212809\/https:\/news.oilandgaswatch.org\/post\/no-plastics-panacea-chemical-recycling-causes-pollution-promotes-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">further three states<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Michigan, New Jersey and New York).<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the EPA currently has <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221112235526\/https:\/grist.org\/regulation\/epa-might-finally-regulate-the-plastic-industrys-favorite-kind-of-recycling\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">neither a formal definition of chemical recycling nor a national framework for regulating it<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, chemical recycling advocates are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230214212809\/https:\/news.oilandgaswatch.org\/post\/no-plastics-panacea-chemical-recycling-causes-pollution-promotes-waste\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pushing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the agency to reclassify chemical recycling facilities as manufacturing or recycling facilities (as opposed to waste combustion facilities), allowing them to meet less-stringent environmental standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical recycling is referenced in the EPA\u2019s\u00a02021 <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230217225709\/https:\/www.epa.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2021-11\/final-national-recycling-strategy.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Recycling Strategy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as a potential form of recycling that warrants \u201cfurther discussion.\u201d The EPA recently opened a\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211118010844\/https:\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2021\/11\/05\/2021-24253\/potential-future-regulation-addressing-pyrolysis-and-gasification-units\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">formal rulemaking\u00a0process<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> regarding pyrolysis and gasification that could lead to national-level rule changes similar to the recent state laws easing the way for chemical recycling.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><b>Plastic waste is a major problem. Chemical recycling is not the solution.<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Proponents of \u201cchemical recycling\u201d misleadingly present it as part of a \u201ccircular economy\u201d and a solution to the plastics crisis. But even if chemical recycling plants did what their proponents claim and turn plastic into plastic, this would not reduce the amount of plastic in circulation and would serve merely to justify and incentivize continued or even increased plastics production.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In sum, \u201cchemical recycling\u201d is a form of greenwashing used by the petrochemical industry to ensure a fossil fuel-based future, and a diversion from the pursuit of real solutions for managing plastic waste: curbs on plastics production, bans on single-use plastics, and policies that reduce plastic consumption and support the creation of a genuine circular economy.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h2><b>Policy recommendations<\/b><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><b>Policymakers should act to reduce the use and production of plastics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and hold polluters accountable for the health and environmental damage they inflict. The plastics industry should be required to cover the full costs of the waste it creates through measures such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/epr.sustainablepackaging.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> enacted in a growing number of U.S. states and elsewhere.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Regulations should clearly distinguish between plastic-to-fuel processes and processes that turn plastics to new plastics.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Industry proponents have deployed the term \u201cchemical recycling\u201d to deliberately blur the lines between the different processes involved. Those lines should be clearly delineated and reflected in regulatory frameworks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Neither solvent-based nor plastic-to-fuel processes should be enabled to compete against less damaging forms of waste management<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, such as mechanical recycling. Companies using or intending to use solvent-based processes should not receive subsidies or incentives or benefit from deregulation. Plastic-to-fuel processes should be phased out altogether.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><b>Policymakers should compel companies engaged in chemical recycling to be transparent about the pollution emitted by their facilities. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chemical recycling plants should be closely monitored for toxic emissions, greenhouse gas emissions and management of hazardous waste. A comprehensive picture of the current state of chemical recycling is hampered by a <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230216123611\/https:\/www.nrdc.org\/sites\/default\/files\/chemical-recycling-greenwashing-incineration-ib.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lack of information about and transparency<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of these facilities, and much of the data regarding waste-based fuels, their chemical composition and their environmental and health risks is <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20230303182247\/https:\/www.propublica.org\/article\/chevron-pascagoula-pollution-future-cancer-risk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shrouded in secrecy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"wide","image":"","caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_action","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_action":{"action":"","action_query_string":""}}],"site_specific_content":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u201cChemical recycling\u201d: What you need to know.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Chemical recycling is intended to convert plastic waste to fuel and new plastics. This is not a solution to the plastic waste crisis. It\u2019s not really even recycling. Here\u2019s what you need to know.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/georgia\/edfund\/resources\/chemical-recycling-what-you-need-to-know\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cChemical recycling\u201d: What you need to know.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Chemical recycling is intended to convert plastic waste to fuel and new plastics. This is not a solution to the plastic waste crisis. It\u2019s not really even recycling. 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