Chemical recycling is the term given to a group of technologies that can convert mixed and/or contaminated plastic waste back into ‘virgin-like’ raw materials. This means that chemical recycling can produce recycled plastics from hard-to-recycle waste that are highly suitable for complex end-applications, such as food contact and medical, or for safety-critical applications (such as automotive), which is not always possible with mechanical recycling.
Chemical recycling technologies, which include pyrolysis, gasification, hydro-cracking and depolymerisation, can make Europe less dependent on (often-imported) fossil-based feedstocks.
To facilitate a fast and efficient transition towards incorporating chemical recycled feedstocks in our current infrastructure alongside fossil-based feedstocks, the implementation of the mass balance methodology becomes imperative.
The mass balance methodology enables the use of chemically recycled feedstocks in existing large-scale industrial plastics production installations that are also fed by fossil-based feedstock. Learn more below.