Chemical recycling

Chemical recycling is a group of technologies that break complex materials, mainly plastics, down into their basic chemical components to produce new raw materials.

Unlike mechanical recycling, which preserves the structure of the material, chemical recycling breaks the polymer chains and yields monomers, fuels or valuable chemicals.

It is seen as a strategic tool for waste that is not suitable for mechanical recycling, such as mixed, multilayer or contaminated plastics, or plastics containing problematic additives.

Within the circular economy, chemical recycling opens the door to recovering plastics almost indefinitely, reducing dependence on oil and avoiding the emissions associated with incineration.

Legal context

Spain's Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soil for a circular economy recognises chemical recycling as a form of material recovery, provided that useful compounds are recovered.

At EU level:

• The Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC prioritises material recovery over energy recovery.
• The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) has applied generally since 12 August 2026 and is the main demand driver for recycled material. Its substantive obligations start on 1 January 2030: from that date all packaging must be designed for recycling, and plastic packaging must contain minimum shares of recycled material (30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles and for contact-sensitive PET packaging, 10% for contact-sensitive packaging in other plastics and 35% for other plastic packaging), rising sharply again in 2040.
• A live debate at EU level concerns how chemically recycled output should be accounted for under mass-balance rules, and whether certain techniques count as recycling or as energy recovery when the output is used as fuel.

Chemical recycling processes

Pyrolysis

• Thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen (around 400-800 degrees Celsius).
• Converts plastics into pyrolysis oils, gases and solid char.
• The oils can be refined into fuels or new plastics. See pyrolysis for more detail.

Gasification

• Decomposition above 800 degrees Celsius with limited oxygen or steam.
• Generates syngas (a mix of hydrogen and carbon monoxide), which can be turned into methanol, fuels or polymers. See waste gasification.

Hydrogenolysis

• Uses hydrogen and catalysts to break polymer chains.
• High efficiency for producing liquid hydrocarbons.

Chemical depolymerisation

• Applied to plastics such as PET, which can be broken into its monomers (terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol) to produce virgin-equivalent PET.

Solvolysis

• Uses solvents (alcohols, glycols) to break down specific plastics.

Suitable materials

• Mixed and multilayer plastics that cannot be recycled mechanically.
• Contaminated plastics with organic or chemical residues.
• Specific polymers: PET, PS, PA, polyurethanes.
• Synthetic textile waste: polyester and nylon.

Advantages

1. Allows the recycling of materials that are currently not recyclable.
2. Produces high-quality raw materials, comparable to virgin ones.
3. Contributes to security of supply for critical resources.
4. Reduces dependence on landfill and incineration.

Limitations and challenges

• High investment and operating costs.
• High energy use, which limits its sustainability unless renewable energy is used.
• Industrial scale still emerging in Europe and Spain.
• Regulatory debate over its classification and accounting.

Additional regulatory framework

• European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy (2018).
• EU Circular Economy Action Plan (2020).
• Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste, which promotes the use of recycled material in packaging and now applies only where it does not conflict with the PPWR.

Chemical recycling and the circular economy

Chemical recycling widens the possibilities for closing the plastics loop, complementing mechanical recycling. It allows waste currently considered non-recyclable to be turned back into resources, avoiding disposal and reducing emissions. It is therefore an emerging pillar of the circular economy that still requires regulatory clarity, investment and social acceptance. It will not replace mechanical recycling, but complement it.

Manglai helps companies measure and manage their waste and materials data and prepare their sustainability reporting.