气候变化领域集成服务门户

In mid-November the United Nation Environment Programme will meet in Nairobi for a third round of negotiations to develop an international legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution.

To investigate the impacts of chemical recycling, the IPEN and Beyond Plastics report analyzed peer-reviewed literature as well as publicly available data on the 11 existing chemical recycling plants in the U.S., Lee Bell, mercury and persistent organic pollutants policy advisor at IPEN who is also the author of the new report, told EHN.

The analysis concluded that chemical recycling is “a dangerous deception” to solving the plastic waste problem as it is “inefficient, energy-intensive and contributes to climate change.” Even at full capacity, the report noted, the 11 chemical recycling facilities in the U.S. would handle less than 1.3% of the plastic waste generated annually within the country.

The report also claimed chemical recycling to be “dangerous and dirty,” emitting toxic waste back into the environment along the process. According to the analysis, typical emissions from pyrolysis, one of the most prevalent methods used in chemical recycling that involves breaking plastics down with high heat, include carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, chlorinated and brominated dioxins, furans and acid gasses. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances , also known as PFAS, “may also be a contaminant of concern in chemical recycling output, but little information is available on the subject,” the report pointed out.

Furthermore, as part of the report, Beyond Plastics said it analyzed the 5-mile radius around each of the 11 chemical recycling plants using the EPA’s Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool. The results showed that eight of the plants are located in areas with lower-income communities while “seven have higher-than-average concentrations of people of color than the rest of the state and country,” the report noted.

“Researchers worldwide have all agreed that the amount of data released by the chemical recycling industry is insufficient to determine its full impacts,” Bell said.” But what we have been able to deduce from the information that is available is that there are some very, very hazardous impacts associated with the processes.”