In the July 6 article on chemical recycling, ["Public supports chemical recycling, pollsters say"] the claim was made that the public "supports chemical recycling." This is likely because most people have no idea what chemical recycling is — a point even made in the article itself!
Yet the American Chemistry Council continues to push the fantasy of chemical recycling to mislead investors, governments, and the public into thinking we can recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis. But we can't. Touting chemical recycling as a solution is merely a PR tactic meant to create the illusion of progress by the plastics industry. The only real solution is to stop making so much plastic in the first place.
Plastics are only recycled at a rate of about 5 percent in the United States. Americans have made it clear that we want a fix to the plastic pollution crisis — we don't want plastic poisoning our communities and clogging our oceans and rivers.
Chemical recycling and other "miracle fixes" touted by the ACC are intended to distract us so that the industry can keep churning out plastic and padding their pockets. These false solutions will never stop the crisis that we're facing. We must instead focus on real solutions that prioritize phasing down plastic production.
Lisa Ramsden (she/her) is senior oceans campaigner for Greenpeace USA's Plastic Free Future Campaign.