Congress eyes role of science in fixing plastics recycling

The plastics recycling system in the United States needs major help. That was a clear area of bipartisan agreement at a recent U.S. House of Representatives Science, Space and Technology subcommittee hearing in Washington.

But what to do about it from a science perspective — and what role federal research spending should play in developing new technology around recycling — was less clear.

Both the subcommittee's top Democrat, Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and its top Republican, Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., opened the June 24 hearing by noting that the U.S. recycles a very low 9 percent of its plastics.

"There's no one-size-fits-all solution here," said Stevens, who pointed to projections that virgin plastic production will quadruple by 2050. "Historically, the U.S. has not done the best job at recycling. We recycle less than 9 percent of our plastic waste."

Testimony focused on potential technology options to deal with that, including new recycling processes, robotics, packaging design and more research into nonfossil fuel plastics.

A witness from the American Chemistry Council, for example, pushed support for chemical recycling, a process that breaks down the molecular bonds of traditional plastics to build new polymers. It's seen as a technological fix for hard-to-recycle plastics.

But several witnesses told the Subcommittee on Research and Technology that Congress should step up funding to find new plastics made from renewable feedstocks like plants and give more attention to climate impacts from growing plastic production.

Marc Hillmyer, director of the Center for Sustainable Polymers at the University of Minnesota, said research around renewably sourced plastics is "decades behind" work on the fossil fuel-based polymers that dominate today.

"Significant effort, support and new initiatives are imperative for future generations to enjoy the benefits of plastics while simultaneously eliminating their negative consequences," he told the subcommittee. "It's pretty clear that turning to renewable resources for plastics will ultimately be the future."

Hillmyer said that plastics are "remarkable materials" and are a key to medical treatments, food preservation and reducing carbon footprints by doing things like making cars lighter.

But he also urged Congress to fund research to move away from fossil fuel-based polymers for disposables.

"Using oil and gas to make plastics that typically have very short lifetimes, end up in the environment and cause damage to our environment, is simply unsustainable," he said.

The hearing was called by Stevens, who chairs the subcommittee, to get input on the Plastic Waste Reduction and Recycling Research Act, a bill that she and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, reintroduced earlier this year.

The legislation calls for Washington to develop a national strategy for plastic waste reduction, fund a research program around waste and recycling, and develop standards for plastics recycling. It would set aside at least $425 million over five years for that.

Another scientist urged Congress to look at plastic waste solutions through a climate lens.

Greg Keoleian, director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan, said virgin plastic production in 2015 accounted for 3.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but with the estimated rapid increases in plastics production, it's projected to be about 15 percent of the world's carbon budget by 2050.

He recommended Congress prioritize decarbonization when looking at plastic waste solutions.

"The plastics waste crisis is worsening, and federally funded R&D is needed to develop robust and sustainable solutions," he said, pointing to challenges recycling plastics in both packaging and in durable goods.

"At the core the current plastics waste crisis is an economic problem," he said.

At times the committee split along partisan lines.

New York Democrat Paul Tonko said he worried about the climate impacts of rising plastic production. And Virginia Democrat Don Beyer asked witnesses about the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act and said, "The elephant in the room is why not less plastics?"

But Republicans on the committee said they worried about measures like the Break Free Act and similar plans in Democratic climate change legislation.

Waltz, the top-ranking Republican on the subcommittee, said he sees chemical recycling and other technological fixes like robots and artificial intelligence to sort recyclables as better than new regulations.

"I believe that using innovative methods to bolster and optimize our domestic plastics recycling will not only preserve our environment but also avoid costly regulations," he said. "And that's unlike the plastic provisions in the Green New Deal."

But he also argued that recycling infrastructure has failed to keep up with growth in plastics production, a point with more bipartisan agreement.

He said a recent visit to a marine research center in his coastal Florida district left him worried about microplastics in the environment.

"It was … very disturbing to see the amount of microplastics that are appearing in our ocean food supply," Waltz said. "It was staggering and it's dangerous and we absolutely need to take action."

Both Waltz and Gonzalez pointed to the advanced recycling technologies advocated by the plastics industry, and Waltz noted an ACC study that said they could be a $10 billion boost to the U.S. economy.

Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at ACC, told the hearing that Stevens' bill would accelerate development of advanced recycling and urged Congress to support it.

"Momentum for advanced recycling is accelerating across the United States," Baca testified, noting that 14 states have passed laws supporting its development. "Globally recognized corporations and mature recycling enterprises are making significant commitments and building infrastructure at a commercial scale."

Baca pointed to a recent announcement from Eastman Chemical Co. that it's spending $250 million to build an advanced recycling facility in Tennessee to turn hard-to-recycle plastics back into new plastics.

He called advanced recycling part of an "all of the above" strategy for dealing with plastic waste.

As well, he called on Congress to develop national standards around recycling to guide the roughly 9,000 local programs that right now generally set their own rules around what materials they recycle.

"I think there's a very appropriate role for Congress here to develop a set of minimum standards that work to improve recycling access, recycling education, recycling outreach and recycling collection," he said. "That will definitely streamline the processes to getting more plastics and all materials, frankly, into the system."

Stevens closed the hearing by saying she hoped it would kick off more debate and push her bill forward.

She said Washington should think more broadly about the government's role in recycling and noted ongoing debates in the capital about new trillion-dollar federal spending on infrastructure.

"We really do need a systems approach," Stevens said. "This also comes at a unique time as the United States is charting a path forward on our broader infrastructure as well."