At the request of the FDP, the chemical recycling of plastic waste was up for discussion in the state parliament, Euwid reports.

 

According to the specialist service, the FDP is essentially promoting the idea that chemical processes, which are not intended to replace but to supplement mechanical recycling, can soon be counted towards recycling quotas such as those in the Packaging Act. This is because relying solely on the expansion of mechanical recycling would not be enough to achieve the targets of the circular economy. In the view of the FDP, it would be counterproductive to keep this technology down in regulatory terms. The party is calling for a clear commitment to chemical recycling, which is said to hold enormous potential for North Rhine-Westphalia. The Liberals also propose the construction of demonstration plants for research and development. The chemical industry would have announced that it will invest billions in the industrial implementation of chemical processes. There were also already plans for large-scale plants in NRW, such as a pyrolysis plant for the mineral oil company BP at the Gelsenkirchen-Scholven site. Critics, including the bvse-Bundesverband Sekundärrohstoffe und Entsorgung (German Association for Secondary Raw Materials and Waste Disposal), complained that chemical recycling is too energy-intensive, ecologically inefficient and that the processes are susceptible to additives and foreign materials. In order to secure the mechanical recycling of LVP plastics, the association advocates in a statement that quotas for chemical recycling should be anchored in the End-of-Life Vehicles Ordinance, the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act and the Commercial Waste Ordinance - but not in the Packaging Act. In contrast, the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) points out that the German government announced the recognition of chemical recycling in the Packaging Act in the coalition agreement and urges that it be implemented soon. This is because the ambitious recycling targets could only be achieved with these additional processes, according to the VCI.

 

Sources:

• euwid-recycling.de (Jan. 17, 2023)
• Photo: © Dieter Schütz, pixelio.de