Lobbyists for the plastics industry are urging the state legislature to exempt "chemical recycling" from an upcoming waste reduction bill, arguing that incinerating single-use packaging constitutes a closed-loop circular economy.
The proposed legislation, which aims to reduce non-recyclable packaging in the state by 30 percent, has stalled in committee amid a contentious debate over acceptable waste management. Representatives from the American Chemistry Council have spent the week pressing Albany to carve out protections for chemical recycling, a proprietary innovation in which thousands of tons of plastic waste are heated in a furnace until they combust, successfully diverting the material from landfills and directly into the troposphere.
If we arbitrarily restrict the production of virgin packaging, we rob our facilities of the chance to subject that packaging to advanced thermal degradation.
Proponents of the process, formally known as pyrolysis, argue the technology is critical for meeting corporate net-zero pledges. While a recent review by the International Energy Agency noted that existing chemical recycling plants process less than 1 percent of municipal plastic waste and generate highly toxic byproducts, industry advocates maintain the facilities are exceptionally efficient at producing sustainability reports. Dow and TotalEnergies have further requested that the state classify the resulting ash as a nature-based solution.
The New York legislature is expected to vote on the revised packaging controls next Thursday, coinciding with the EPA’s deadline to finalize its delayed guidance on frontline particulate matter exposure and the early onset of the North American fire season.