Chemical Recycling of Plastics is ‘False Solution,’ Scientists Suggest

Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste are seen piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, on May 17, 2021. REUTERS/George Frey
Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste are seen piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, on May 17, 2021. REUTERS/George Frey
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Chemical Recycling of Plastics is ‘False Solution,’ Scientists Suggest

Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste are seen piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, on May 17, 2021. REUTERS/George Frey
Bales of hard-to-recycle plastic waste are seen piled up at Renewlogy Technologies in Salt Lake City, Utah, US, on May 17, 2021. REUTERS/George Frey

After research involving eight plants in the United States, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has found that advanced recycling touted by industry groups, also known as chemical recycling, is in fact a ‘false solution,’ Agence France Press (AFP) reported.

Chemical recycling differs from the world’s most used mechanical recycling which doesn’t contribute to producing high quality plastics. Chemical recycling uses different techniques (high temperature, chemical reactions…) that help break plastic down to its molecular building blocks.

The NRDC believes the plants using this technique are very far from producing new plastic.

The council, which rejects "greenwashing” (misleading consumers on the environmental performance of companies or products), noted that these plants are in fact producing fuel that would be burned later, in addition to huge amounts of waste.

“Chemical recycling plants are not only failing to recycle plastic in an efficient and safe way, but they are also emitting polluting substances to the atmosphere,” said Veena Singla, a senior scientist at the NRDC who authored the research.

The NRDC also found "five of the eight studied facilities were producing fuel and burning it directly to generate electricity. This process emitted greenhouse gasses highly responsible for climate change.

Six of these plants are allowed to produce PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), chemical materials resulting from chemical recycling and causing health problems. According to the report, producing fuel from plastic waste does not qualify as recycling.

The Natural Resources Defense Council studied a factory in Oregon that produces polystyrene and uses pyrolysis technology to convert this material into styrene. The council notes that between 2018 and 2020, the Agilex plant sent a total of 150 kilograms of styrene to “burn it instead of converting it into new plastics.”

In 2019, about 230,000 kilograms of hazardous waste (gasoline, lead and cadmium…) were also transported to other sites for incineration.



Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
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Faint Glow in Saturn… Did a Mystery Object Crash into the Gas Giant on Saturday?

New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA
New image captured by a NASA employee and amateur astronomer appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time. Photo: NASA

Astronomers have called for help to identify a mystery object that may have hit Saturn on Saturday in what could be the first recorded instance of a space object crashing on to the gas giant.

Studies suggest large objects- measuring over a kilometer across – strike Saturn once every 3,125 years on an average, according to The Independent.

Although data shows seven or eight small space rocks hit the planet every year, none have been spotted in the act by astronomers so far.

Compared to rocky planets where cosmic collisions leave impact craters, gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn don’t reveal such signs.

But a new image captured by a Nasa employee and amateur astronomer Mario Rana appears to show a space object crashing into Saturn for the first time.

Since gas giants have outer layers made of hydrogen and helium, strikes by asteroids or comets can quickly fade out.

Rana is part of the DeTeCt project, which analyzes images of Jupiter and Saturn using computer software. Videos taken of Saturn by the astronomer last Saturday show a faint glow in the left side of the footage, which seems like an impact event.

The Planetary Virtual Observatory and Laboratory, or PVOL, a consortium of professional and amateur astronomers, has called for experts in the field to attempt to confirm or refute the potential impact on Saturn.

“Marc Delcroix reports a potential impact in Saturn captured in a few frames in a video observation obtained by Mario Rana. The potential impact would be very faint and is unconfirmed,” PVOL said in a statement.

“The very short impact flash occurred on Saturn on 5 July 2025, between 9am and 9.15am UT. It is very important to get other videos of Saturn taken during that time frame.”

PVOL has urged astronomers who may have also captured observations from this time to contact Delcroix and submit their data.

Leigh N Fletcher, a planetary science professor at the University of Leicester, also called for amateur space observers to share any potential videos they may have of the impact.

“Amplifying the call from Marc Delcroix and co over the weekend: the team are looking to verify/refute a potential impact on Saturn on 5 July, 9am to 9.15am UT,” Dr Fletcher wrote on BlueSky.

“Videos taken by amateur observers at that time might hold the key.”