Debate Still Rages Over Chemical Recycling Policy
Though both sides seem to agree over the challenge posed by plastics, the issue of chemical recycling is split along party lines, according to an article from Politico, with Republican-led state legislatures embracing the technology and Democrat-run governments much slower to act. Environmental groups and petrochemical manufacturers reportedly view the technology – and how it should be regulated – quite differently.
Twenty states, all but one of them Republican-led, have passed chemical recycling legislation. The primary battle is over permitting, according to Politico, as industry groups lobby Congress to classify recycling plants as manufacturing facilities while environmental groups contend they are waste management operations and should be subject to stricter emissions limits under the Clean Air Act.