Video makes case for plastics-to-fuel as a complement to recycling

The Washington-based American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Plastics-to-Oil Technologies Alliance (PTOTA) has released an animated video that is designed to showcases plastics-to-fuel technologies as a viable end-of-life solution for nonrecycled plastics and a complement to recycling.

The video, "Plastics-to-Fuel: Creating Energy from Non-Recycled Plastics," explains pyrolysis technology and its potential to divert used, nonrecycled plastics from landfills. The PTOTA says pyrolysis can generate a range of products, including transportation fuels, electricity and petroleum-based feedstocks for manufacturing. The video also discusses some of the barriers to increasing the use of plastics-to-fuel technologies and proposes solutions to allow for wider adoption.

“Plastics-to-fuel technologies complement recycling by converting nonrecycled plastics into useful commodities,” says Craig Cookson, director of sustainability and recycling for ACC’s Plastics Division. “Plastics are a valuable resource that should be kept out of landfills, and plastics-to-fuel technologies can help us do that.”

Additionally, PTOTA has released a guide, “Regulatory Treatment of Plastics-to-Fuel Facilities,” that seeks to help regulators better classify the technologies. The guide includes a permitting checklist and two-page factsheet on regulating plastics-to-fuel technologies.

“The video shows the potential of expanding the number of plastics-to-fuel facilities to create jobs and locally sourced fuels and energy,” says Michael Dungan, director of sales and marketing for RES Polyflow and chairman of the PTOTA. “Our facilities create products, we’re manufacturers, not waste managers.”

Members of the PTOTA include Agilyx Corp., Beaverton, Oregon; Cynar Plc, London; RES Polyflow, Akron, Ohio; Americas Styrenics, The Woodlands, Texas; Sealed Air, Charlotte, North Carolina; and Tetra Tech, Pasadena, California.