New certification sets best practices chemical recyclers

A new certification standard aims to set best practices for "chemical recycling," a set of technologies that break down hard-to-recycle plastics — like tires, flexible packaging, and textiles — into reusable raw materials. Unlike traditional recycling, which melts or reshapes plastic, chemical recycling uses processes such as pyrolysis, depolymerization, and gasification to convert waste chemically. Fewer than 20 of these facilities exist worldwide right now, but dozens more are planned, and the new standard, called SCS-004, was created to guide how they operate.

The standard covers environmental practices, worker and human rights considerations, and how recyclers track materials from waste to finished product, including a method called "mass balance" accounting. Supporters say chemical recycling can turn otherwise unrecyclable waste into useful material, but the approach is debated because some methods use a lot of energy or create waste and emissions of their own. The new certification is meant to help distinguish more responsible operations from those that behave more like waste incineration. Companies seeking certification must publicly share details about their permits and emissions, including greenhouse gases and pollutants like carbon monoxide. Higher certification levels require sharing more data, such as conversion rates or full life-cycle assessments, and certified facilities are audited yearly over a three-year certification period.

This isn't a program homeowners can join or benefit from directly — it applies to industrial recycling facilities, not household recycling bins. But it signals a push for more transparency in an industry that increasingly touches products made from "recycled content," including some building and consumer materials.