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Title: Plastics Industry Pushed 'Advanced Recycling' Despite Knowing Problems

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/08/1617...

Plastic producers have pushed "advanced recycling" as a salve to the plastic
waste crisis despite knowing for years that it is not a technically or
economically feasible solution, a new report argues. The Guardian: Advanced
recycling, also known as chemical recycling, refers to a variety of processes
used to break plastics into their constituent molecules. The industry has
increasingly promoted these technologies, as public concern about the
environmental and health effects of plastic pollution has grown. Yet the
rollout of these technologies has been plagued by problems, according to a
new analysis from the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), a fossil-fuel
accountability advocacy group. "The companies make it sound like it's pretty
great, like it's something we should pursue," said Davis Allen, investigative
researcher at the CCI and author of the report. "But they know the problems,
the limitations." The new analysis follows a 2024 CCI report which alleged
that plastic producers concealed the problems with traditional recycling, and
argued that they could face legal ramifications for doing so. That earlier
research was cited in a September lawsuit filed by California's attorney
general, Rob Bonta, against ExxonMobil for its role in the plastic pollution
crisis. "The new report focuses on this modern deception with advanced
recycling, which has become a real focus for the industry in recent years,"
said Davis.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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