A new report claims use of "advanced plastic recycling and recovery technologies" could be worth almost $10 billion in economic impact in the United States.

The America Chemistry Council is out with the report that looks at technologies to convert recovered plastics into products such as chemicals and chemical feedstocks.

Mechanical recycling dominates plastics recovery, but work continues on creating economically viable ways to chemically recycle the material. Chemical recycling is technically viable, but the struggle has been creating ways to actually make money using that approach.

"Advanced plastic recycling and recovery technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we make, use and reuse our plastic resources," Steve Russell vice president of plastics for ACC said. "These technologies further demonstrate the untapped value of used plastics and have the potential to dramatically accelerate our transition to a circular economy."

Plastic recycling lags behind both paper and metal recycling in the United States due to the unique challenges of handling used resins and keeping them separate. Even small amounts of misplaced resin can cause huge problems in plastics recycling systems.

The report is called Economic Impact of Advanced Plastics Recycling and Recovery Facilities in the U.S. The study updates similar work done by the ACC in 2014.

Chemical recycling includes processes such as pyrolysis and depolymerization, the trade group said.

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» Publication Date: 20/03/2019

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