What is Chemical Recycling?
Chemical recycling breaks down plastic and turns it into its plastic components. It is a collection of technologies using heat, solvents, enzymes and sound waves to do so.
The idea is that chemically recycled plastic can be used for new plastic products., but some of the messaging around it makes this method seem more ecologically sound than it really is.
Chemical recycling uses pyrolysis, a process of heating material in a sealed chamber without oxygen. In this case, shredded plastic or pellets are put into the chamber, which is heated to 300°-700°. Though it doesn’t create ash and smoke like a more traditional incinerator, it does produce pollutants such as particulate matter, which are particles that are so tiny that they can get into the human bloodstream and reach vital organs. Methane is also a byproduct, potentially leading to respiratory and neurological conditions.
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The mass balance approach
Chemical recycling works on a mass balance model. Mass balance is a series of processes where the inputs and outputs are transferred, monitored and controlled as they move through each part of said process. With the mass balance approach, materials or products with one set of characteristics are mixed with ones without that set of characteristics. This could be mixing up recycled and virgin plastic, for example.
There’s a lot hiding in the small print here. On a ‘recycled’ product, it’s not easy for a consumer to discern how much of the product is recycled. In theory, it could be 70% virgin plastic and 30% recycled plastic and still be labelled as ‘recycled’ under mass balance accounting (MBA). Mass balance accounting is a system that businesses use to track how much recycled plastic is in their products.
Will chemical recycling replace mechanical recycling?
If anything, chemical recycling risks undermining mechanical recycling. Although it’s an imperfect system, mechanical recycling is the second-best option we have, behind simply using less plastic.
Mechanical recycling is also substantially cheaper than chemical recycling, so the more traditional method is unlikely to be replaced soon. Chemical recycling is over-touted as a miracle solution as, on top of being expensive, it is labour and fuel-intensive.
Independent chemical engineering experts describe it as a form of partial recycling that won’t be commercially viable for another 50 years. Read more in The Recycling Industry's Dirty Secret.
All in all, this method increases pollutants and facilitates an increase in plastic production, stifling better solutions to the crisis at hand.
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For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk
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