When we think about waste, we tend to think about materials that bring harm to nature. These materials can be perilous and most often they are unwanted. Plastic waste, for example, is definitely one that brings harm with huge effects. Most of the millions of tonnes of plastic collected are brought to landfills, but some believe that this itself is a waste of a valuable resource. With the determination to change this, the chemical industry of the Cefic organization developed solutions to recycle plastic waste that would normally be sent to landfills, or incinerated.

With the help of chemical recycling technologies, the chemical industry was able to figure out a process. These technologies can break down plastic waste and transform them into secondary raw materials, materials that are recycled to be used instead or alongside the original source, to produce new chemicals and plastics with nearly identical quality. As of now, the organization successfully developed consumer products such as food packaging, mattresses, refrigerator parts, etc. However, they plan on taking it to an industrial scale. 

This infographic shows how chemical recycling technologies work. It shows how they can transform waste into a reusable product, creating a cycle. This can be done through three processes: Dissolution, Depolymerization, and Conversion. These processes handle the plastic waste that would otherwise be disposed of. The first process, dissolution, takes the idea of extracting plastic. It uses heat and solvents to dissolve the plastic into polymers and additives. While the polymers are untouched, the additives are replaced to produce the new recycled plastic. The second process is the depolymerization method, which takes the idea of breaking the waste down into basic building blocks. Using different combinations of chemistry, solvents, and heat, the polymers within the waste are broken down into monomers. Potential contaminants are then removed from the monomers. Finally, these monomers are “fed back” into the normal plastic production process, as a secondary raw material. Finally, the last process is conversion. Conversion takes the idea of turning it into raw materials. Using heat and chemistry, the waste is turned into either liquid or gas. Depending on which one, it takes place with the absence of oxygen, or the presence of oxygen respectively. Similar to the depolymerization process, potential contaminants are then removed. The liquid or gas then reenters the chemical production chain as a secondary raw material. 

• https://cefic.org/a-solution-provider-for-sustainability/chemical-recycling-making-plastics-circular/