By Plasteurope.com correspondent

The British Plastics Federation (BPF, London; www.bpf.co.uk) has told the UK government that the use of chemical recycling should be kept out of any adjustments to the country’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).

Earlier this summer, the then-Conservative government launched a consultation, which sought the views of stakeholders on proposals to expand the ETS beyond the current aviation, power, and industrial sectors. The ETS is designed as a “cap-and-trade” system, aiming to limit total greenhouse gas emissions and create a carbon market with a carbon price signal to incentivise decarbonisation to facilities dealing with waste.

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It argued any expansion should omit those involved in chemical recycling, implying ministers believed the practice could help with progress towards a circular economy.

Spelling out its reason for proposing changes to the system, the government said it did not intend to include facilities that break down waste into polymers and monomers that are then used as raw materials for products that remain in the circular economy, which is a form of recycling. 

The consultation, which ended earlier in August, asked if interested parties agree that “facilities that produce monomers and polymers from waste that can be used as raw materials (non-mechanical or ‘chemical’ recycling) for materials to remain in the circular economy should not be included in the scope of our proposals”.

The BPF said it sided with the government’s position.

Chemical recycling facilities, the BPF said in a statement issued to Plasteurope.com, “should be excluded from future government ETS arrangements. They are quite different activities from incineration, combustion, or energy from waste as they are re-creating used artefacts as a new material or product. Hence, they are assisting in the completion of the circular economy.”

The association said such an approach was “consistent with the definition of ‘chemical recycling’ drafted by the European Coalition on Chemical Recycling (ECCR).” It defines chemical reclaim as “converting polymeric waste by changing its chemical structure to produce substances that are used as products or as raw materials for the manufacture of products.” 

The BPF emphasised that, “‘Products’, according to the ECCR, excluded those that were used as fuels or means to generate energy.”