Chemical Recycling Plants Create Hazardous Waste, Report Says

Chemical recycling plants, touted by plastic industry advocates as a possible solution for the growing plastic waste crisis, are mostly burning plastic waste and spewing toxic fumes, according to a report released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“It is being proposed as an important solution by industry,” said Veena Singla, a senior scientist with NRDC who authored the report, “but is a false solution.”

Every year the United States generates upwards of 35 million tons of plastic waste. The majority of that ends up in landfills. About 8.5 percent is recycled, meaning it is typically shredded and turned ...