Chemical Recycling Certification

As global plastic waste piles up, chemical recycling has become a polarized battleground: proponents call it a high-tech solution for hard-to-recycle materials, while critics say it is a hyped fix that lacks rules and, above all, transparency. SCS Standards and Assurance Systems has launched the Certification Standard for Responsible Chemical Recycling (SCS-004) to provide transparency around what goes on in chemical recycling plants.

Rather than lay down rules about what counts as recycling or how plants operate, the independent, voluntary standard requires chemical recyclers to disclose specific details so brands can determine whether to buy content sold as chemically recycled, and from whom. It uses a three-tiered framework of Core, Plus, and Trailblazer, and certified recyclers must publicly disclose details around operating permits, environmental commitments, atmospheric emissions, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions.

A central tension is the mass balance debate, and SCS-004 allows two approaches: Material-to-Material Attribution, which prohibits claiming recycled-content credits for material used as fuels or for energy recovery, and Energy Use Attribution, which carries no such restrictions. The Association of Plastic Recyclers maintains that recycling is resin-to-resin, so fuels and other non-plastic outputs should be excluded, though certified recyclers must clearly state which accounting model they use.

Learn More:

• Greenfuels (Germany)
• KleanFuels (Canada)
• SPR (Japan)
• Recycled PP Speakers (Japan)
• Independent Oil Producer (Thailand)
• Low-Carbon Marine Fuel (Malta)
• Pyrolysis and Gasification Consulting
• Carbon Management

Certify Your Chemical Recycling Operation

As brands demand verifiable proof of recycled-content claims, SCS-004’s transparency and mass-balance disclosure requirements put certified recyclers ahead of the field.

Klean Industries offers turn-key EPC and feasibility studies, and its plastic-pyrolysis technology operates across Germany, Canada, and Japan.

Ready to verify your recycling process?

Contact Klean Industries about chemical recycling and plastic pyrolysis » GO.