The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will mandate companies using the “advanced recycling” process to submit their product for impurity testing, as reported by Reuters on April 21. The EPA included this measure in a new draft federal strategy designed to prevent plastic pollution in waterways and oceans as required by a 2020 law. The EPA is seeking public input on multiple goals and objectives for “reducing, reusing, collecting, and capturing plastic and other waste from land-based sources” by 2040. Although the EPA intends to promote circular economy policies, it has excluded “processes that convert solid waste to fuels, fuel ingredients, or energy” from this strategy.

“Advanced recycling” or pyrolysis/chemical recycling is a plastics industry-recommended reprocessing technology that uses heat or chemicals to transform plastic waste into fuel or reclaimed resin for new plastic. The EPA now requires companies to submit oil chemicals for testing before and during project approval to ensure there are no environmental risks associated with impurities found in oil from pyrolysis. Although the EPA welcomed discussion of this technology in a separate draft national recycling plan in late 2021, it does not consider it a “recycling” activity. The EPA’s decision to mandate impurity testing for “advanced recycling” is part of a broader effort to address the growing problem of plastic pollution. While the plastics industry has touted “advanced recycling” as a solution to this issue, some environmental groups have criticized it as a form of “greenwashing” that fails to address the root problem of plastic waste.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/us-epa-calls-testing-oil-derived-plastic-waste-2023-04-21/

https://www.nrdc.org/resources/recycling-lies-chemical-recycling-plastic-just-greenwashing-incineration

https://www.americanchemistry.com/better-policy-regulation/plastics/advanced-recycling