The US Environmental Protection Agency is again signalling its intention to lift federal emissions restrictions on pyrolysis and chemical recycling units. In a draft rule on air curtain incinerators published in the Federal Register in March, the Agency is seeking comment on a proposal to remove "pyrolysis/combustion units" from the definition of "municipal waste combustion unit" under the rules governing Other Solid Waste Incinerators (OSWIs). The EPA had proposed making the same change in 2021, but withdrew the measure in 2023 after saying it had "received significant adverse comments on the proposed provision."
EPA Director Lee Zeldin framed the change as a way of "promoting advanced recycling technology" and cutting unnecessary regulatory burdens. He blamed regulatory uncertainty and "the outdated classification of pyrolysis as incineration under the Clean Air Act" for holding back investment in US chemical recycling capacity. Despite the current administration's stated support for chemical recycling, the Department of Energy (DOE) withdrew over €300m in federal funding that had been committed for the construction of a molecular recycling plant by chemicals group Eastman in Longview, Texas....
