Study: Chemical recycling better for climate than virgin resin, landfills – USA

Posted on October 14, 2022 by DrRossH in Plastic Recycling

Source

The CCNY study, however, did not seem to directly compare chemical recycling processes to traditional mechanical recycling technologies.

Other studies have found a lower carbon footprint for mechanical recycling for plastics, vs. chemical recycling.

A late September study from Zero Waste Europe, for example, found that pyrolysis, one of the more common chemical recycling technologies, can have greenhouse gas emissions that are nine times higher than mechanical recycling.

The study noted at one point that there are limits on the number of times a material can be mechanical recycled.

“Since limitations exist and plastic materials that are mechanically recycled several times eventually lead to portions being disposed or combusted, it is imperative to fully understand the technologies and how they are deployed,”

Tt seems that AR is not going to supply many solutions in the upcoming years and landfilling will be with us for many years yet.  That is where companies like Biogone (Australia) show great leadership.