Chemical Recycling

Background

The European Green Deal is at the heart of the EU’s ambitions of becoming climate neutral. Europe intends to be a world leader in the circular economy and clean technologies. Chemical recycling of end-of-life plastics can fill a key gap in the recycling loop and change the way we approach plastics recycling. Chemical recycling breaks down the plastic into feedstocks and monomers so new chemicals and plastics can be made that are equivalent to those made from fossil resources.

Realising the potential of chemical recycling

Chemical recycling is not widely deployed today. To meet the ambitious European targets, much more plastic waste needs to be recycled and plastic products containing recycled content should be served to a broader range of markets. The chemical industry requests enabling conditions to realise the full potential of chemical recycling. Enabling conditions include innovation, policy frameworks, a level playing field, recycling-chains and clear pathways to “valorise” post-use plastics that would otherwise be shipped, incinerated, landfilled or wasted.

Cefic’s position

To ensure the scale up and full deployment of chemical recycling, the industry is operating under the following guiding principles:

• Increase collaboration and work in partnerships to boost innovation and investments (e.g. the Circular Plastic Alliance).
• Increase transparency and develop uniform standards for a mass balance approach.
• Further develop quality standards for sorted/pre-treated plastic waste.
• Use Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) to measure environmental impacts along the life cycle of products.

We invite policymakers to integrate into their decisions the following key enablers, necessary for ensuring the scale up and full deployment:

• An enabling policy framework that looks beyond the traditional boundaries of regions and Member States and offers an open investment environment and a competitive economic model.
• An open, single market to ensure a continuous supply of plastic waste for the operation of chemical recycling plants.

Discover the Industry ‘Virtual Exhibition on Chemical Recycling’