Advanced recycling can help us recycle a lot more plastics
Here’s how we plan to do it
Today’s recycling systems can recover some used plastic. But not anywhere near enough.
That’s what makes burgeoning private investments in new recycling technologies so exciting.
These technologies can dramatically increase the types and amount of plastic that can be recycled.
Which reduces the need for fossil resources and keeps plastic out of landfills. And our environment.
It’s called advanced recycling.
These technologies turn used solid plastic into its gas or liquid raw materials to be remade into brand new plastic for use in virtually any plastic product or packaging.
More than 90% of plastics aren’t being recycled. America’s plastic makers are investing in new technologies to change that. Advanced recycling is a breakthrough for reclaiming used plastics.
Here are five things you need to know about advanced recycling. Many people in the industry use the term “advanced recycling.” It means taking plastics back to their molecular form so they can be reprocessed into new products. Every week you take your trash and put it out at the curb. Imagine if that litter were dollar bills — you’d pick it up. That’s what we’re doing. We’re creating value for something that has no value.
Not all used plastic can go through the mechanical recycling process. That’s what’s really exciting about advanced recycling — it allows you to address hard-to-recycle plastics that can’t be recycled today. Advanced recycling is going to help eliminate plastic waste that currently goes to landfills, so we can use fewer natural resources in our products.
In the next 10 years, advanced recycling will have a strong foothold in the industry. It’s clearly the future. If you want to make a real dent in plastic recycling, advanced recycling is one of the top ways to do it — along with having good infrastructure.
Learn more about new technologies changing how we recycle, reuse, and remake plastics.
The plastics recycling industry is investing billions of dollars in these technologies and has launched dozens of projects designed to divert millions of tons of used plastic per year from landfills.
Multiple large consumer product companies already create packaging using recycled plastics created by these technologies. And they are clamoring for more to meet sustainability goals.
Hundreds of companies have committed to make more of their packaging recyclable and to use more recycled content. For more info, visit U.S. Plastics Pact.
Advanced recycling can help these companies meet their sustainability goals.
Watch some of the people making sustainable change by helping bring advanced recycling technologies to life.
Meet Jeremy: The Disruptor
As President of Alterra, he’s deploying new technologies to recycle previously difficult-to-recycle plastic, again and again.
Meet Natalie: The Finder
Natalie specializes in finding used plastics to remake into new plastics, many of which had previously been difficult to recycle.
What’s needed to make plastic recycling work better? A team effort.
To recycle plastic, an interwoven chain of players must work in concert. The plastic recycling chain can be viewed as a virtuous circle, in which each player enables the next.
LEARN MORE About Advanced Recycling
Take a deeper dive and learn more about how advanced recycling can tackle the 90% of plastics that aren’t recycled today.
Fact Sheets
The following series illustrates how advanced recycling turns used plastic into new plastic and provides more information about the environmental profile of this new manufacturing technology.
Insights
Find out what’s happening in Advanced Recycling and how we’re making sustainable change.
Podcasts
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Episode 41
New Recycling Technology
Brian Schmatz, Senior Manager Business Development and Sales North America at TrinamiXTechnology is primed to make the recycling industry more efficient and sustainable than ever before. In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, Brian Schmatz, a chemist and inventor at BASF subsidiary TrinamiX, shows us the innovative technology he’s developed to enhance the recycling industry.
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Episode 40
Austin’s Path to Zero Waste
Maddie Morgan, Circular Economy Program Manager for the City of AustinAustin’s reputation for innovation is inspiring its approach to sustainability and circularity. In this episode of Sustainably Speaking, Maddie Morgan, Austin’s Circular Economy Program Manager shares how the city is engaging with businesses, entrepreneurs, tech leaders, and everyday Austinites to promote sustainability in their thriving city.
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Episode 39
Unpacking U.S. Recycling
Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling PartnershipExplore the fascinating journey of Keefe Harrison from a college job to CEO of The Recycling Partnership on Sustainably Speaking. Hear her advice on joining the recycling movement, myths and facts about plastic recycling, and how you can contribute to a circular economy for a better planet.
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Episode 38
The Technology Creating Value from Used Plastic
Jeremy DeBenedictis, President, AlterraJeremy DeBenedictis shares an inspiring story about what it takes to become an environmental entrepreneur. As President of Alterra, Jeremy leads and mentors his team which has developed an innovative technology to help keep used plastics out of landfills through advanced recycling.
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Episode 37
Why We Need to Study Microplastics
Dr. Jeanne Hankett, Sustainability Lead in the Corporate Analytical & Material Science Department at BASFIn this episode of Sustainably Speaking, host Mia Quinn explores the critical role that science is playing when it comes to identifying solutions for microplastics pollution.