Material Circularity: Principle No. 2 for Building a Circular Economy - Seite 2

But mechanical recycling has limitations, starting with the very narrow range of simple plastics it can process, such as clear plastic water bottles and clear gallon milk jugs. Also, plastics that are mechanically recycled degrade each time they're processed until they can't be mechanically recycled anymore. Mechanical recycling is finite. Molecular recycling is infinite because the plastics do not degrade, no matter how many times they're processed. And the vast types and amounts of plastic items that cannot be mechanically recycled - colored plastic bottles, eyeglass frames, food containers and polyester carpet are just a few - can be processed by molecular recycling.

To achieve true material circularity, we need material-to-material molecular recycling. To create a circular economy, we need to invest in better access, collection and sorting within the mechanical recycling system. We also need to build an infrastructure that supports molecular recycling to revolutionize materials.

The complexity of advanced recycling

The phrase "advanced recycling" doesn't really tell us much about the process. The general term covers any technology that transforms waste to be used again and isn't traditional mechanical recycling. Technologies that some characterize as advanced recycling might in fact be transforming waste materials into fuel. We would argue that these technologies should not be characterized as recycling.

However, there are other technologies that are truly circular and produce building blocks identical to those produced from fossil resources, so they can then be used to make new high-performance materials. This is referred to as material-to-material recycling and is preferred. It keeps existing materials in use, reducing our need to create more from fossil resources. It's also what we mean when we refer to Eastman molecular recycling.

But even within material-to-material molecular recycling, there are a range of technologies with varying environmental benefits or consequences. The most sustainable processes can repurpose an extremely high percentage of the processed waste with very little yield loss. They use the least amount of hazardous chemicals and have lower carbon emissions while producing useful feedstock from waste.

We know consumers are looking for recycled content. And that means businesses are looking for recycled materials. So why aren't we doing more material-to-material molecular recycling?

The problem is most of these recycling technologies are relatively new. Recycling technologies and facilities are expensive and take time to build. With failing perception of recycling and confusion around accepted materials, more and more people are giving up on putting plastic in their recycling bins. Mechanical recycling, which our current infrastructure is built for, accepts limited types of plastics. And the range of accepted plastics varies by municipality.