The Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers called plastics-to-fuel processes “false solutions,” though the group of nonprofit recyclers says it is more open to technologies that are geared toward production of recycled resin.
The Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers (AMBR) recently issued two reports about chemical recycling (sometimes referred to as “advanced recycling”).
“The end goals of any plastics recycling should be to reduce reliance on virgin fossil fuels and support a circular economy,” Lynn Hoffman, national coordinator for AMBR and co-president of Eureka Recycling, stated in a press release. “Every recycling system should be evaluated based on its ability to meet these goals, and chemical recycling fails the test.”
AMBR is made up of Eureka Recycling in Minneapolis; Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colo.; Ecology Center in Berkeley, Calif.; and Recycle Ann Arbor of Ann Arbor, Mich. All run MRFs except Ecology Center, which collects curbside recyclables.
The terms “chemical recycling” and “advanced recycling” generally refer to a wide array of processes that use heat, pressure and solvents to break down the molecular chains of polymers into liquids or gases that can then be processed into fuels, oils, waxes, new plastics, or other chemical products.
They’re in contrast to the “mechanical recycling” of plastics, which generally refers to steps such as shredding/grinding, washing/drying, melting and extruding scrap plastic. Such processes leave the polymers’ molecular chains intact.
In two AMBR reports issued March 16, the group argues that plastics-to-fuel technologies perpetuate a reliance on virgin fossil fuels, present risky financial investments, disproportionately impact people of color, and carry other downsides.