Standards Development

Scope

This document establishes the terms, definitions, methodologies, and calculations that are necessary for the recovery of plastic waste through chemical recycling. The document identifies the different types of chemical recycling technologies used in the recovery and subsequent recycling of plastics waste arising from pre-consumer, post-industrial and post-consumer sources, including leakage into the environment. 

The document also establishes the requirements and calculations that should be considered in evaluating chemical recycling inputs and outputs and determining output classifications for the recycling operation and the downstream integration points. The document also establishes general quality requirements that should be considered in all steps of the recovery process, and provides general recommendations for inclusion in material standards, test standards and product specifications.

The process stages, requirements, recommendations and terminology presented in this document are intended to be of general applicability.

Purpose

Today’s plastic system primarily relies on mechanical approaches to collect and recycle plastic, but the infrastructure is limited to recovering specific resin codes, a lack of infrastructure to support broader collection and economic pressures that make some plastics more valuable than others. New technologies and complexities are emerging that require additional guidance on recycling products through chemical means, commonly referred to today as chemical recycling or feedstock recycling. Chemical recycling is an umbrella term that is applied unevenly across several technology types and input materials. The core technologies that enable chemical recycling processes break down plastic into various polymeric or monomeric forms which can then be reconstituted into other materials and fuels. As of 2022, ISO 15270:2008, Guidelines for the Recycling of Plastics, is up for review. Along with wiser decision making about virgin plastic production, plastic recycling rates must increase to combat the enormity of the plastic waste challenge. Discarded or waste plastic has potential to become a meaningful feedstock to a broader recycling system than the one that currently exists today. The market requires further guidance on what can be considered recycled plastic to meet regional, national and corporate recycling rate targets. To ensure the standard is consistently providing relevant market guidance, it is necessary to expand the sections on chemical recycling located within the standard, so they reflect the current market capabilities and offer guidance where guidance is lacking.