Analysis from an environmental perspective of the proposed EU legal framework for pyrolysis and gasification

On behalf of the European Commission, the Joint Research Center (JRC) recently published two studies, which intend to provide a basis for a legal framework for chemical recycling.

The scope of this assessment by ECOS, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, and Zero Waste Europe includes techniques performing thermo-chemical decomposition of plastic waste to molecular-level feedstock, with a focus on pyrolysis and gasification of plastic packaging waste. From an environmental point of view, these technologies should be classified as chemical recovery techniques, and can therefore only contribute marginally to reducing impacts from plastic production.

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