**8.2 Availability of recycling facilities**

The vision of a circular economy can only be realized by deeming used plastic as a resource and not as waste, and through employing advanced recycling technologies that "keep the molecule in play" and maintain materials at an economic value. Advanced recycling technologies have been used to turn plastics into fuels for decades; however, to meet the growing market demand for high-quality plastic recyclate, there is a need to improve domestic and global capabilities of waste management and recycling systems. (The future of plastics Sustainability: advanced recycling). A new era of advanced recycling for plastics, also referred to as "chemical recycling," has the potential to help the nation achieve global sustainability goals and a climate-neutral, circular economy. As much as half of all global plastics packaging could be recycled by 2040 if chemical recycling technologies were widely adopted [10].

Over the past 10 years, the capacity for processing post-consumer (rPET) has had its ups and downs. The industry recently lost 400 mm lbs. of capacity with the closure of some facilities. Capacity was expected to return to roughly 2 billion lbs./year by 2018, with at least 350 million lbs. of new PET-processing capacity becoming online. As of 2018, facilities that reprocess rPET were operating at 75% capacity [61, 73]. Brand container users are aggressively pursuing rPET for new container construction. Recently, the recycling market was unable to fill these demands for rPET.

The metropolitan area comprising Houston, Texas, USA, has the largest concentration of petrochemical manufacturing in the world. Significant tonnage quantities of BTX, synthetic rubber, insecticides, and fertilizers form the basis of this robust chemical industry. Chemical and thermal-based methods of breaking down plastics required for plastic recycling are currently available in the Houston area's chemical and petrochemical facilities to aid the utilization of a feedstock derived from plastic recycling. The metropolitan area comprising Houston, Texas, USA has the largest concentration of petrochemical manufacturing in the world. Significant tonnage quantities of BTX, synthetic rubber, insecticides, and fertilizers form the basis of this robust chemical industry.

Chemical and thermal-based methods of breaking down plastics required for plastic recycling are currently available in the Houston area's chemical and petrochemical facilities to aid the utilization of a feedstock derived from plastic recycling. This alternative based on the pyro-catalytic conversion of mixed waste polyolefins form pyrolysis oil, which can be inserted in the material flow stream of an olefin unit to be processed by a catalytic cracker to form a mixture of small molecules. This mixture contains a variety of small molecules including olefins, which can be separated and repolymerized into a recycled virgin version of the polymers. Tank cars and wagons can provide the transportation necessary to deliver the oil from a small pyrolytic oil plant to the refinery. Apart from the physical and technical assets of the Houston area, other contributions are evident in the intellectual capital of the energy industry value chain, which can provide leadership opportunities for chemical recycling advancements in the global economic, energy, and sustainability arenas [10]. The effort has been estimated to remove 10 million metric tons of CO2, while supporting 100 advanced recycling facilities by 2020, each capable of processing 25,000 tons per year [76, 77]. Such recycling technology using facilities in Houston, TX area provides an example of how the circular plastic economy could be supported [78].

#### **8.3 Availability of conversion facilities**

The alternate approach under investigation would substitute plastics as feedstock material for oil. Even mixed plastic waste and difficult-to-recycle polymers can be used to make new, high-quality fuels and plastics—for the most demanding applications like food contact [79]. Conversion, or pyrolysis and depolymerization technologies, can convert waste plastic, which cannot be treated by mechanical recycling, into oil and gases. The compatibility of pyrolytic oil composition is important to the success of this technology. Avoidance of certain pyrolytic oil compositions will be critical to this recycling technology, since they can be detrimental to the material flow within the refinery. This is an attractive option for plastic products that are difficult to recycle mechanically due to their low-quality, composite nature, or low economic value. These monomers can be used as virgin material alternatives in manufacturing new polymers [80].

Although successful use of this technology has been demonstrated at PTF facilities worldwide, no commercial-scale systems have yet been developed in North America. There are several U.S.- and Canadian-based technology manufacturers that have operational pilot facilities. Several other global technology manufacturers have also emerged. Many of these companies have pilot-scale facilities that tend to be about one-fifth of the smallest recommended capacity for a commercial-scale facility [81].

### **9. Conclusion**

The long-term solution for sustainable management of plastic requires stakeholder engagement from design to product across the value chain to achieve a circular economy. Although clean-up of the environment from plastic

*Are Reliable and Emerging Technologies Available for Plastic Recycling in a Circular… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101350*

contamination is necessary for the short-term, sustainable solution demands a fundamental shift from the current practice of design, use, and recycling of plastics where plastic would not become a waste; instead, it contributes to the circular economy. The need for reliable plastic technology is imminent. Mechanical recycling offers technology that can be economically engaged to meet the clamoring requirements for highly increased plastic recycling in large quantities. The dispersion of plastic recycling technology across the U.S. is not responsive to the recycling needs of many population centers. Take-back and collection programs require attention to optimize the economics controlling the collection process. Incentive programs to enhance plastic waste collection efforts could provide a necessary support.

Competent technologies capable of converting plastic waste into useful materials have been developed to pilot scale or beyond. Performance data that is sufficiently transparent, describing the efficiency and environmental footprint for many of the technologies have not generally been available to assist the evaluation of a given technology. To the public, transparency of process operations is critical to the acceptance of the technology. This data may not be made available for technological and economic reasons in a very competitive market. The technology developer must offer the transparency of information regarding the performance of a conversion process to ensure public acceptance of new technology. Recent reviews have delineated that some advanced technologies in the thermal processing sector are not sustainable and should be avoided [82, 83]. Perhaps, this argument discards a viable technology without a replacement. Reviewers' expectations have shown an understanding of recycling process development and the time scales required for fullscale implementation. News of new plastic recycling technology often builds unachievable expectations in the minds of the public. Technologies described at a concept level may require a long and tortuous research path to a recycling technology that can be operated optimally at full-scale. The time scale for converting a recycling process at a concept level to a full-scale optimized process can be highly variable. A promising technology of chemical recycling still needs to be evaluated at full-scale to understand its performance and environmental footprint. New technologies will appear as developers can harness processing technology that is adaptable to the slight economic margins of operation currently found with plastic recycling.

The current availability and quality of waste plastic feedstock can be significant determining factors. The basic economics of plastic recycling impedes the desired expansion of recycling centers across the United States. The demonstration of plastic waste depolymerization processes has begun and requires optimization to ensure continued use against severe economic constraints. The success of these operations will be important to the expansion of the technology across the United States. The reduction of single-use plastics required innovative business models to develop novel packaging designs. There is also an urgent need to reduce the leaking of plastic waste into natural systems to become environmental waste. Increasing collection, sorting, and recycling rates are required to support circular economy to provide sustainable solutions to up-recycling, reducing plastic waste, and valorizing used plastics.
