Chemical Recycling Could Bolster Sustainable Packaging

Companies like Henkel and BASF are getting closer to bringing chemically recycled plastic prototypes to market, an effort that could help them comply with expanding requirements for more sustainable plastic packaging.

Unlike traditional or “mechanical” recycling, in which plastic is cleaned, shredded into tiny pellets, and remolded into new products, chemical recycling can be used on low-quality plastics that would otherwise end up in a landfill or incinerator.

The chemical process breaks down the plastic’s molecular chains into liquid monomers that can be used in place of new fossil fuels, and it also ...