Exxon claims breakthrough plastic recycling tech can process waste 10X faster than current methods—here are 5 things you need to know
- It’s a chemical recycling method: Rather than melting down plastics like traditional recycling, Exxon’s new tech uses heat and pressure to break them down into basic molecular building blocks, which can then be turned back into high-quality virgin plastics indefinitely.
- The speed boost is key: The company says this process can handle waste in a fraction of the time, claiming a 10x improvement over existing chemical recycling, potentially cutting costs and making large-scale adoption more viable.
- It tackles mixed plastics: One of the biggest recycling challenges is sorting, but Exxon’s approach can process mixed and often unrecyclable plastics like bags and films without needing to be perfectly separated.
- Skeptics are watching: Environmental groups worry this is a distraction from reducing plastic production, and there are concerns about energy use and emissions from the high-heat process—Exxon vows it’s net-zero with renewables.
- A 2026 start is planned: Exxon is currently building a massive plant in Texas and expects to start recycling 40,000 tons of plastic per year within three years, with ambitions to scale globally.