Proposed bill would provide ‘regulatory clarity’ for chemical recycling

Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Gary Palmer (R-Alabama), the vice chair and chair, respectively, of the House Environment Subcommittee, recently introduced the Recycling Technology Innovation Act.

The bill is designed to provide regulatory clarity around the chemical recycling of plastics and strengthen domestic manufacturing. Chemical recycling, also known as advanced recycling, includes numerous processes that break plastic scrap down into its original molecular building blocks, allowing it to be used as feedstock for new products.

In a statement, Crenshaw says these technologies already are operating successfully in 25 states, but inconsistent federal regulations have created uncertainty that deters investment and slows progress.

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“Our problem isn’t plastics—it’s plastic waste,” he says. “If we want cleaner communities, stronger supply chains and real environmental gains, then we should be empowering the innovators who are turning waste into value. This legislation does exactly that.”

Crenshaw says the proposed legislation (H.R. 6566) provides common sense regulatory certainty manufacturers need and supports an industry critical to the Houston area’s economy and workforce.

“Instead of chasing headlines or demonizing entire industries, we’re solving a real problem with a real policy solution that benefits workers, families and the environment," he says.

Crenshaw says vague and inconsistent interpretations of the Clean Air Act have left companies guessing about how advanced recycling will be regulated—a barrier to long-term planning and large-scale investment. He suggests the bill will solve the issue by regulating the technologies as manufacturing units rather than waste incinerators, aligning federal policy with the 25 states that already regulated chemical recycling as such.

“Advanced recycling is good for the environment and good for the economy,” Crenshaw says. “It keeps plastic waste out of landfills and out of our communities. It strengthens American manufacturing. And it helps ensure that places like Houston—home to one of the nation’s largest plastics and chemical manufacturing hubs—remain at the forefront of U.S. energy and industrial innovation.”

By providing a “stable regulatory foundation,” Crenshaw says the bill will help the plastics and recycling industries plan production, build new facilities in the U.S. and keep goods flowing through the supply chain without unnecessary delays.

The proposal has received support from industry organizations. For example, Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of the Washington-based Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS), says in a statement that advanced recycling technologies are essential to keeping more material in the circular economy.

“Today, inconsistent interpretations of the Clean Air Act create regulatory uncertainty that slows investment and innovation,” Seaholm says. “The Recycling Technology Innovation Act delivers much-needed clarity by ensuring advanced recycling is regulated as manufacturing and aligning federal policy with what most states already recognize. This commonsense approach strengthens U.S. manufacturing, supports American jobs and keeps valuable materials in our economy and out of the environment.”

In a similar show of support, Ross Eisenberg, president of America’s Plastic Makers, a division of the Washington-based American Chemistry Council (ACC), says America wants to recycle more plastic, and the bill is a “smart, practical step” that can help.

“Clear policy can help us turn materials we currently throw away into new products, grow American manufacturing and meet the demand for recycled plastic that brands and consumers want.”

The ACC calls the legislation a “crucial first step” in a suite of federal policies needed to spur investments and upgrades in recycling systems with current innovations that can capture, sort and recycle many more plastics. In addition to passing the bill, the organization calls on the federal government to recognize plastics made from advanced recycling as recycled plastic and to create national recycling standards to improve access and consumer understanding of recycling.

“Modernizing and expanding our recycling infrastructure isn’t just smart environmental policy, it’s smart economic policy,” ACC says, citing its own economic analysis claiming that redirecting 50 percent of plastics from landfills to recycling could generate nearly $50 billion in new annual economic output and support more than 170,000 additional U.S. jobs.