New York state is well-positioned to dramatically improve its plastics-recycling rate, if its lawmakers follow the science. 

Only 10 percent of plastics get recycled and that is unacceptably low. The landfills in New York are reaching capacity and there are few options for the garbage to go. What doesn’t end up in landfills within the state is usually either incinerated or shipped to another state at great expense to New York taxpayers. Mechanical recycling helps alleviate this issue for many rigid plastics, such as soda bottles and milk jugs, but those facilities can’t handle the majority of the most common plastics we use today, like films, wraps, and bags. 

But there’s a big opportunity to turn this around thanks to technological advancements.

Science has come a long way in recent years. Cutting-edge “advanced recycling” technology is capable of recycling much of the remaining 90 percent of plastics by breaking them down to their molecular level, allowing reclaimed plastics to be repurposed into a wide range of new products.

Right now, leading plastic and packaging manufacturers are partnering with advanced recycling providers to produce products as diverse as Nalgene bottles, Tupperware, Wendy’s and McDonald’s drink cups, Herbal Essences shampoo/conditioner bottles, Warby Parker eyeglasses frames, Mattel playsets, Ethicon medical device packaging — the list goes on. And that’s not to mention growing interest in using advanced recycling in the building and construction process — like GreenMantra Technologies, which uses advanced recycling to create industrial waxes that act as performance enhancers in asphalt roofing, roads, and pipes.

Today, 22 states have recognized advanced recycling as an important part of the solution to this crisis. All told, it’s estimated that the more than $6 billion of investments announced in the United States since 2017 can divert more than 15 billion pounds of plastic waste from landfills annually. And the environmental benefits of keeping that waste out of landfills extend beyond the obvious. According to a report last year from the City College of New York (CCNY), for example, advanced recycling can reduce energy use by up to 97 percent compared to landfilling, in turn reducing carbon emissions. 

Additionally, a 2021 report from Good Company, a sustainability consulting firm, found that air emissions at typical advanced recycling facilities are about equal to or lower than those from many hospitals and colleges.

New York has an opportunity to be a leader in plastics recycling, and that could be good news for both our environment and our economy. 

Unfortunately, there are groups like Beyond Plastics, backed by billionaires, peddling misinformation to lawmakers and the public about advanced recycling. They claim it is incineration (it’s not — ash doesn’t make plastic) and carbon intensive (see CCNY report, one of many that found reduced emissions compared to other end-of-life options). It’s important to remember the goal of groups like this is to end plastics writ large, even though that would have significant environmental consequences, rather than find solutions. 

Adopting advanced recycling legislation in New York could help pave the way for some of the most important investments in the state’s green economy. Advanced recycling facilities can take thousands of tons of used plastic per year to remake into new plastics. Converting just 25 percent of recoverable plastics in New York to plastic feedstocks and other products could support 16 advanced recycling facilities — capable of processing 400,000 tons of plastics a year. 

All this recycling could create hundreds — and eventually thousands — of new green-collar jobs and upwards of $500 million in new economic activity annually. And that’s in addition to the savings for New York taxpayers, who currently pay hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the state’s existing recycling facilities. Advanced recycling centers, by contrast, would be privately funded. 

We’ve all heard a lot over the last few years about the importance of following the science. It’s time we did that when it comes to our waste crisis. Science has given us the tools we need to solve it. Let’s use them.        

Joshua Baca is VP of plastics at the American Chemistry Council.