Evaluation of Emerging Plastics: Recycling Technologies and Management Strategies

Developed as part of the Waste to Fuels Technology Partnership 2021–2023 Biennium, this report evaluates recycling and management strategies for emerging plastics with a focus on scalable options relevant to Washington state. It describes why most plastic waste is still landfilled, highlights limitations of conventional mechanical recycling (including purity requirements and material downcycling), and reviews how mixed and contaminated streams constrain recovery.

The report synthesizes major technology pathways for plastics management, including improved sorting, mechanical recycling, and chemical/advanced recycling approaches such as purification/additive extraction, depolymerization, and thermal conversion (including pyrolysis, gasification, and carbonization). It summarizes strengths, weaknesses, and likely products from each pathway (fuels, monomers, polymers, and carbon materials), and discusses environmental tradeoffs and where these technologies fit within broader circular economy strategies. The review also considers implications for bio-based plastics and how policy, markets, and feedstock composition may shape future management options.