Flexible plastic packaging — films, wraps, pouches, sachets, and bags — accounts for a significant proportion of plastic packaging placed on the UK market, but it is among the most difficult to recycle mechanically. Multi-layer structures, contamination, and the sheer diversity of polymer types mean that flexible plastics are often excluded from kerbside recycling and end up in incineration or landfill. Chemical recycling technologies offer a potential solution by breaking these mixed plastics back down into their chemical building blocks for reuse.
How chemical recycling works
Chemical recycling encompasses several distinct technologies:
- Pyrolysis: Heating plastic waste to high temperatures (300–700°C) in the absence of oxygen, breaking polymer chains into a mixture of hydrocarbons (pyrolysis oil) that can be used as feedstock for new plastics or fuels.
- Gasification: Converting plastic waste into synthesis gas (syngas) at very high temperatures, which can be used to produce methanol, ethanol, or other chemical intermediates.
- Solvolysis/depolymerisation: Using solvents or chemical reactions to break specific polymers (particularly PET and polystyrene) back into their original monomers, enabling closed-loop recycling to food-grade quality.
Of these, pyrolysis is the most widely deployed for mixed flexible packaging, while depolymerisation is most advanced for PET (see Article 6 on enzymatic approaches).
UK and European developments
- Mura Technology (UK): Teesside-based company operating the world’s first commercial-scale hydrothermal plastic recycling plant since 2023. Uses supercritical steam (HydroPRS technology) to convert mixed plastics — including multi-layer flexibles — into petrochemical feedstocks. Partnership with Dow Chemical.
- Plastic Energy (UK/Spain): Operates commercial plants in Seville converting mixed plastic waste into TACOIL, a feedstock for new food-grade plastics. Planning UK facilities.
- Quantafuel (Norway): Chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste into liquid hydrocarbons. Operational plant in Skøyen producing certified circular feedstock.
The debate
Chemical recycling is controversial in sustainability circles. Proponents argue it handles plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled and produces virgin-quality output suitable for food contact. Critics raise concerns about energy intensity, low yields (some processes convert a significant proportion of input into fuel rather than circular feedstock), and the risk that chemical recycling could be used to justify continued production of difficult-to-recycle packaging rather than redesigning it.
From a pEPR perspective, the UK government has indicated that packaging designed to be chemically recycled may receive recognition under the RAM framework, but the details are still being worked through. For now, businesses should not rely on chemical recycling as a justification for maintaining non-recyclable flexible packaging formats — designing for mechanical recyclability remains the priority for reducing pEPR fees.