Fact Sheet•
Remaking Plastics to Meet Sustainability Goals
We want to 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.
The plastic recycling industry is investing heavily in these technologies as part of efforts to meet the goal of reusing, recycling or recovering 100% of plastic packaging in the U.S. by 2040.
Since 2017, the industry has announced more than 40 projects valued at over $7B in investments, potentially diverting nearly 8M metric tons (~17 billion pounds) of waste from landfills (per year).
40+
projects
$7B
in investments
8M
Metric Tons diverted
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.
To date, 500+ companies have committed to making 100% of their packaging recyclable and including 25-50% recycled content in their packaging by 2025.
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.
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.
Facts Sheet
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.
Fact Sheet•
Advanced Recycling of Plastics Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fossil Energy Use
Fact Sheet•
Create a Modern Regulatory System To Develop a Circular Economy for Plastics
Fact Sheet•
Advanced Recycling is reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills or the environment
Fuel Efficiency•Safety•
Plastic Composites: More Than the Sum of Their Parts
Safety•Sustainability•Waste Management•
The Story of Plastic (and Elephants)
Waste Management•
What’s the Right Way to Recycle Plastic Bags and Wraps (AKA Plastic Film Packaging)?
Sustainability•Waste Management•
Advanced Recycling: Let’s Connect Policy and Technology
Insights
Find out what’s happening in Advanced Recycling and how we’re making sustainable change.
