Viewpoint on CHEMICAL RECYCLING OF PLASTICS

About the topic

Chemical/ Feedstock/ Advanced recycling (e.g., by pyrolysis, gasification, or depolymerization) is an emerging technology, contributing together with mechanical and organic recycling to a reduction of CO2 and circular economy for plastics. While sorted single-stream plastic waste (with compatible polymer mixtures) can be recycled mechanically, chemical recycling can be used, e.g., for mixed plastic waste streams for which sorting is not economic, or plastic waste for which cleaning is not possible, and recyclate properties are not adequate. Chemical recycling breaks down plastic waste into chemical building blocks from which new plastics or other chemical products can be produced, saving fossil resources. With chemical recycling as an additional complementary solution, more plastic waste is diverted from incineration and landfill and remains in the material cycle. The products have the same properties as those from fossil feedstock and support the increase in recycling-related targets even in applications with high hygiene or safety demand. For example, the pyrolysis process needs almost no external thermal energy since the part of the plastic waste that cannot be turned into oil is pyrolyzed into gas which is used to generate the energy required. According to ISO 15270 standard, the term recycling excludes energy recovery, i.e., the production of fuels or the generation of energy. The same applies, e.g., under the EU Waste Framework Directive and for the European Coalition for Chemical Recycling. An increasing range of research reports (e.g., The PEW, SYSTEMIQ, Ellen MacArthur Foundation) recognizes chemical recycling as an additional technology that is necessary to deal with plastic waste otherwise going to incineration or landfill.

What we offer

BASF is working on solutions to manufacture high-performance products from chemically recycled plastic waste on an industrial scale. BASF launched a multi-stakeholder project ChemCycling^TM that uses pyrolysis technology to turn post-consumer plastic waste (e.g., tires or packaging) into an oil, thereby saving fossil resources for the chemical production. Additionally, BASF pursues depolymerization of post-consumer waste like end-of-life mattresses and pre-consumer waste like from polyamide/ nylon production. The recycled resources are allocated to selected sales products by using a third-party audited mass-balance approach; this chain of custody methodology is already established for many other products like energy, timber, coffee, tea, sugar. In this way, it is possible to create products that fulfil highest quality standards in food-contact, automotive or textile applications because they are identical to products manufactured from fossil feedstock.

What we ask for

BASF believes that the selection of a recycling technology should be based on ecological, technological, and economic benefits, with any type of recycling being equally ranked higher than energy recovery. Chemical recycling will complement mechanical recycling, which will remain the preferred solution if ecologically most beneficial, technologically possible, and economically feasible. For example, an independently reviewed life-cycle analysis for processing of waste streams in Germany has shown that pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste emits 50% less carbon emissions than its incineration and resulting products have a better carbon footprint than fossil-based products. To ensure that chemical recycling can make a viable contribution to the circular economy and sustainability, future legislation, standardization, and recycling guidelines should: 

1. Ensure that recycling approaches are technology-neutral (i.e., consider mechanical, chemical, and organic recycling) and incentivize high-quality recycling of pre- and post-consumer waste streams, giving certainty on investments for recycling. The objective should be to develop the most sustainable waste management option for a given waste stream targeting a certain product quality output. 
2. Ensure that chemical recycling counts towards various recycling-related targets, such as on recycling quota, recyclability, recycled content and are accepted within the scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility schemes. Economic incentives which are broader than legal mandates should encourage the uptake of recycled content into new products. 
3. Accept the use of a suitable mass balance approach (see also BASF position on mass balance) for the calculation of recycled content provided by chemical recycling. 
4. Cultivate new technologies for chemical recycling by encouraging and supporting pilot projects in relevant policies and standards to demonstrate technological feasibility, economic viability, and ecological benefits, and promote their maturity for wider dissemination.

For further information, please contact dialog-plastics@basf.com.