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EPA May Ease Regulation of Chemical Plastic Recycling, and Environmentalists Worry

The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering whether facilities using pyrolysis to recycle plastic should face the same strict air pollution standards as incinerators, accepting public comments on a potential rule change.
Industry advocates argue pyrolysis preserves materials rather than destroying them, and they claim to have hit the "jackpot with the Trump administration" after previous Democratic and Republication administrations declined to change the rules.
John Walke of the Natural Resources Defense Council warned the move would amount to immediate deregulation, creating a gap where no federal emissions standards apply and leaving communities vulnerable to unlimited hazardous air pollution.
At a public hearing last week, Moms Clean Air Force urged officials to maintain strict regulations, with Georgia state organizer Kiya Stanford testifying the proposal "feels like a move to prioritize polluters over people."
There are currently six pyrolysis plants operating in states including Ohio and Texas, while more than 90% of plastic waste remains unrecycled, raising concerns the regulatory shift could accelerate facility construction and diminish federal oversight.

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EPA may ease regulation of chemical plastic recycling, and environmentalists worry

The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering whether facilities that recycle plastic chemically should be held to the same strict air pollution standards as incinerators.

8 hours ago·United States

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