Expanding Plastics Recycling Technologies: Chemical Aspects, Technology Status and Challenges

The global recycling rate for plastics is alarmingly low, with less than 10% of plastic waste being recycled. This has led to significant environmental issues, including pollution from plastic incineration, landfill accumulation, and leakage into ecosystems. The emergence of new technologies for chemical recycling presents promising solutions to address this challenge, attracting attention from both academia and industry. To drive further advancements in chemical recycling and upcycling of waste plastics, chemists and chemical engineers must grasp the fundamental principles underlying these technologies. 

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the entire life cycle of plastics, highlighting options for managing plastic waste and overcoming barriers to industrial chemical recycling. The authors offer insights into potential opportunities associated with these materials and outline research priorities to advance plastic recycling beyond its current scale.