The British Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) argues in a new position paper that chemical recycling will have a "pivotal role in redesigning the plastics system in the UK". The technology's importance rests in its ability to address the challenge of recycling plastic packaging into food grade packaging, which is the biggest market for the recycled material, said the non-governmental organisation. Chemical recycling would provide a necessary complementary recycling route for plastics that cannot be effectively recycled using conventional methods.
Given the potential of "non-mechanical recycling" to significantly increase the UK’s recycling rates, and to divert valuable resources from landfill and incineration, WRAP argues that a number of regulatory and commercial changes need to be made. Non-mechanical recycling should be given the same legal status as conventional recycling, says WRAP. Evidence to support the establishment of an even regulatory footing could be supplied by further independent study, also encouraged by WRAP, of the environmental advantages of chemical recycling compared to energy from waste or the production of virgin plastic. WRAP cited soon-to-be published life cycle assessment (LCA) reports showing that chemical recycling requires less energy to produce pyrolysis oil compared to virgin naphtha, while also reducing CO₂ emissions....
