Plastics Industry Pushed 'Advanced Recycling' Despite Knowing Problems

Plastic producers have pushed 'advanced recycling' as a salve to the plastic waste crisis despite knowing for years that it is not a technically or economically feasible solution, a new report argues. The Guardian: Advanced recycling, also known as chemical recycling, refers to a variety of processes used to break plastics into their constituent molecules. The industry has increasingly promoted these technologies, as public concern about the environmental and health effects of plastic pollution has grown. Yet the rollout of these technologies has been plagued by problems, according to a new analysis from the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), a fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group.

'The companies make it sound like it's pretty great, like it's something we should pursue,' said Davis Allen, investigative researcher at the CCI and author of the report. 'But they know the problems, the limitations.' The new analysis follows a 2024 CCI report which alleged that plastic producers concealed the problems with traditional recycling, and argued that they could face legal ramifications for doing so. That earlier research was cited in a September lawsuit filed by California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, against ExxonMobil for its role in the plastic pollution crisis. 'The new report focuses on this modern deception with advanced recycling, which has become a real focus for the industry in recent years,' said Davis.

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