Critics say plastic industry accounting methods hide harms of chemical recycling

What it means

This Mongabay article reports that environmental critics argue the plastic industry uses accounting methods—such as 'mass balance' or 'free allocation'—to inflate the apparent recycling rates and environmental benefits of chemical recycling (e.g., pyrolysis), while downplaying its harms like toxic emissions, high energy use, and the fact that it often produces fuel rather than new plastic. The critics contend these accounting tricks obscure the true environmental impact and perpetuate plastic production.

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