A key global body has urged caution over chemical recycling, insisting the emerging process should only be used in certain situations.
The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) published a position paper on the system of recovering and reusing the base elements of plastic products.
Plastics Europe earlier this year insisted a content-wide rollout of chemical recycling was “essential” to meet targets for reuse of material in new items.
But the BIR warned that the technology needs careful consideration and “well-informed, market-based policies” to ensure it doesn’t push out traditional methods.
“Mechanical recycling must remain the preferred method on a large scale,” insisted the body.
“Chemical recycling should be used only for hard-to-recycle end-of-life plastics.”
BIR director general Arnaud Brunet said: “A robust method for calculating the climate impacts of chemical recycling must be developed. This should cover all emissions from the process, as well as overall energy use and incineration of recovered hazardous waste.
“Furthermore, incentivizing the lower-carbon option of mechanical recycling would enable it to compete with lower-priced primary plastics and make the process more attractive for investment.”
