EPA Considers Easing Regulations on Chemical Plastic Recycling

Environmental advocates warn the move could lead to more dangerous pollution in communities.

Apr. 15, 2026 at 2:08pm

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A bold, abstract painting in soft blues, greens, and grays, featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise botanical spirals, conceptually representing the complex chemical processes and environmental forces involved in plastic recycling.As the EPA weighs easing regulations on chemical plastic recycling, a complex diagram captures the competing interests and environmental impacts at play.Baytown Today

The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering whether facilities that recycle plastic chemically should be held to the same strict air pollution standards as incinerators. Environmental advocates say this would lead to more dangerous pollution in communities, while the plastics industry argues it would clear up confusion while still controlling emissions.

Why it matters

The world is producing millions of tons of plastic pollution every year, and the debate over chemical recycling versus incineration has major implications for air quality and environmental justice in communities near these facilities.

The details

Chemical recycling uses heat or chemicals to break down plastics, with the main method being a process known as pyrolysis. The EPA currently regulates pyrolysis under the Clean Air Act's strict standards for incinerators, but the agency is considering reclassifying it as manufacturing, which would have weaker emissions regulations. The plastics industry has long pushed for this change, arguing it would preserve and recover materials, while environmental groups say it would amount to deregulation and increased pollution.

  • In 2020, the Trump administration proposed a similar change, which was later withdrawn by the Biden administration.
  • In March 2026, the EPA published a notice requesting comment on a proposed rule to consolidate regulations for another type of incinerator, with a small section soliciting comment on removing the reference to pyrolysis.
  • Last week, many people urged the EPA to keep pyrolysis units regulated as incinerators at a public hearing.

The players

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The federal agency responsible for regulating air pollution and overseeing environmental protection.

American Chemistry Council (ACC)

An industry group that has long argued for reclassifying pyrolysis as manufacturing rather than incineration.

Judith Enck

A former EPA regional administrator who now heads up the nonprofit Beyond Plastics and opposes the potential regulatory change.

John Walke

The leader of the Natural Resources Defense Council's national clean air advocacy, who argues the EPA's plan skips crucial steps in the rulemaking process.

Ross Eisenberg

The president of America's Plastic Makers, who leads the ACC's plastics advocacy and argues the change would clear up confusion while still controlling emissions.

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What they’re saying

“Chemical recycling companies know that if they want to operate, they need to get this essential Clean Air Act permit and they don't like it. They have spent decades trying to convince EPA to change the rules of the game.”

— Judith Enck, Former EPA regional administrator, head of Beyond Plastics

“You could have a facility that was controlled on a Monday, preventing those hazardous air pollutants from being emitted into the atmosphere, and on Tuesday, the facility would have legal permission to turn off installed pollution controls to allow the unlimited release of hazardous air pollution into the same community that was better protected on Monday.”

— John Walke, Leader of NRDC's national clean air advocacy

“The definition of incineration is to destroy it, right? You're literally trying to make it go away. That's not what they're doing here. They are trying to preserve it and recover the materials, which is recycling, which is manufacturing.”

— Ross Eisenberg, President of America's Plastic Makers, ACC plastics advocacy lead

What’s next

If the EPA finalizes the regulatory rollback, the Natural Resources Defense Council plans to challenge it in court.

The takeaway

This debate over the EPA's regulation of chemical recycling facilities highlights the ongoing tension between industry interests and environmental protection, with major implications for air quality and environmental justice in communities near these facilities.