"The Trump administration recently removed a major roadblock for chemical recycling, an unproven set of technologies that the oil and plastic industries are pitching as a panacea to the world's plastic pollution crisis. Now, amid an unprecedented lobbying push and with corporate allies ensconced in key regulatory agencies, theindustries are clamoring for a nationwide buildout of chemical recycling facilities that experts say are highly polluting, disastrous for climate change, and almost entirely ineffective."
"In promotional videos and policy fact sheets, often accompanied by professed commitments to a "circular economy" for plastic waste, these industries claim that sustainable recycling technologies - not limits on production - will solve the world's plastic pollution crisis. For decades, oil and gas companies have known that the majority of plastics - made from fossil fuel-derived chemicals - could not be recycled using traditional methods."
"Bales of plastic containers sit stacked in a warehouse at Recology's Recycle Central on September 24, 2024, in San Francisco, California. California Attorney General Rob Bonta had filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil, alleging the oil and gas corporation misled consumers by telling them that recycling was a viable solution for plastic waste. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images. This story was originally published by The Lever an investigative newsroom. If you like this story, sign up for The Lever 's free newsletter."
The Trump administration removed a regulatory roadblock that enables expansion of chemical recycling, an umbrella term for processes that convert plastic waste into chemicals and fuels. Oil and plastic industries are lobbying for nationwide chemical recycling facilities while promoting a 'circular economy' narrative and arguing recycling, not production limits, will solve plastic pollution. Companies long knew most plastics cannot be recycled mechanically, yet they are pressing 'advanced recycling' despite state and class-action lawsuits alleging consumer deception. Experts warn chemical recycling is largely unproven, often highly polluting, harmful to the climate, and lacks robust evidence of effectively reducing virgin plastic production.
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