EPA Moves to Clarify Clean Air Act Rules for Advanced Plastic Recycling Technologies

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency is pursuing regulatory clarification that would distinguish pyrolysis-based plastic recycling from incineration under existing Clean Air Act rules. Pyrolysis uses heat in the absence of oxygen to convert plastics into raw materials, and Zeldin said the current regulatory framework — written before pyrolysis was applied to plastic recycling — has left potentially dozens of facilities in legal and regulatory uncertainty.

The Washington Examiner published an op-ed by Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers at the American Chemistry Council, which represents the plastics industry. The piece argued that the existing rule was designed for other industrial processes and that treating advanced recycling as disposal is both factually incorrect and economically harmful. Eisenberg said fewer than 10 such facilities currently operate in the United States, and that the regulatory clarification could enable dozens more.

Zeldin stated that advanced recycling could add more than 173,000 jobs and nearly $13 billion in annual payroll to the U.S. economy, framing the initiative as aligned with President Trump's manufacturing goals. One existing facility in Texas, which Zeldin visited, processes 50,000 tons of plastic per year into raw materials, according to the op-ed.