CEFIC | Chemical Recycling: Making Plastics Circular

Welcome to the European Chemical Industry ‘Virtual Exhibition on Chemical Recycling’

In Europe, about 30 million tonnes of plastic waste is collected every year. But still 85% of that ends up in landfill or is incinerated. This is not only a source of CO₂ emissions but is also a waste of valuable resources. The chemical industry is determined to change this. How? With chemical recycling technologies, the industry has developed complementary solutions to existing mechanical recycling to recycle mixed or contaminated plastic waste that otherwise would be incinerated or sent to landfill. These technologies can break down plastics and transform them into valuable secondary raw materials to produce new chemicals and plastics of similar quality to those made from fossil resources. Together with value chain partners, the chemical industry has already successfully developed consumer products like food packaging, refrigerator parts, mattresses, carpets, and dashboards in cars.  As a next step, after having demonstrated the technologies’ viability, the industry plans to roll out the technologies at industrial scale.

Discover how chemical recycling technologies make plastics circular and explore Cefic’s members’ concrete examples