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Youngstown has a long industrial history and is still home to numerous sources of industrial pollution, including a steel plant and other metal fabricators, a concrete plant, and a hazardous waste processing facility. (Credit: Kristina Marusic for EHN)
Listen: Why communities in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia are fighting chemical recycling plants
EHN reporter Kristina Marusic discusses her new three-part series on the controversies surrounding chemical recycling.
PITTSBURGH — EHN reporter Kristina Marusic recently spoke with The Allegheny Front about three communities in the Ohio River Valley that are fighting proposed chemical recycling plants.
Chemical recycling is an umbrella term for processes that use heat, chemicals or both to break down plastic waste into component parts for reuse as plastic feedstocks or as fuel. The industry says chemical recycling could help solve the plastic waste crisis, but some environmental health advocates say chemical recycling facilities worsen climate change and emit toxic chemicals.
Marusic recently wrote about community fights to stop proposed advanced recycling facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Listen to her interview with The Allegheny Frontbelow.
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Newsletter
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Plastic recycling's new era faces hurdles
Despite big brands' pledges for a greener future, advanced recycling technology lags in effectiveness.
In short:
- Big companies like Nestlé and Procter & Gamble invest in chemical recycling (also known as "advanced recycling") plants to meet environmental goals, but the technology is problematic.
- PureCycle Technologies, central to these efforts, struggles with technical issues and skepticism over its ability to process hard-to-recycle plastics.
- Critics argue the industry promotes recycling as a solution to deflect from the real issue: the need to reduce plastic production.
Key quote:
“The industry is trying to say they have a solution. It’s a non-solution.”
-- Terrence J. Collins, professor of chemistry and sustainability science at Carnegie Mellon University
Why this matters:
Proposals are in the works for chemical recycling plants across the U.S. To learn more, check out EHN's explainer, along with our recent reporting on conflicts and impacts of chemical recycling in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
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Photo by Killari Hotaru on Unsplash
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