(MOT) ADVANCED RECYCLING

Moms Clean Air Force staff and organizers stand on Capitol Hill, calling for strong protections from advanced recycling. Moms Clean Air Force

Amanda Rowoldt used to carefully collect all the plastic bags that accumulated in her home and drop them off in recycling bins at her local grocery store. She felt like she was “doing the right thing for the planet and for future generations.”

It wasn’t until years later that she learned there is no safe and effective way to recycle plastics. The bags in those bins were most likely ending up in a landfill. Angry and frustrated, the mother of two made it her mission to uncover the other myths she’d been told about plastic.

Amanda’s curiosity led her to join the national nonprofit Moms Clean Air Force where she now serves as the leader of their Ohio chapter. With the plastics industry on track to triple plastics production by mid-century, Amanda says she was determined to “protect her children and other families from the ever-growing plastics crisis.”

As traditional plastic recycling methods fall short, the industry is falsely claiming they have a new way to make plastic waste disappear—advanced recycling. They are touting this “advanced recycling” as the solution to our plastics waste problem.

But “advanced recycling” is not advanced, not recycling, and not good for the planet or people’s health. It is the petrochemical industry’s attempt to greenwash plastic waste incineration. Unfortunately, burning plastics is as toxic as it sounds. The process utilizes a type of incineration called “pyrolysis” to produce extremely contaminated oil while generating massive amounts of hazardous waste and hazardous air pollutants. This pollution from incinerating plastic can increase the risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. It is especially dangerous for children, whose bodies are more vulnerable since they are still developing.

Last year, Amanda had a taste of what it would be like to live next to one of these facilities when she made the short drive to the Freepoint pyrolysis incinerator in Hebron, Ohio. As she pulled up next to the site, she saw black plumes of smoke coming out of the smokestacks and had to leave after only a few minutes due to sudden nausea and dizziness—but not before she captured footage. Amanda was able to leave the area but instantly thought of the families who could not and sprang into action.

The next day, she shared the video with a state lawmaker, whose staff member called the Ohio EPA that afternoon. The agency, whose job it is to enforce pollution controls to protect families, sent a team to inspect the facility. They temporarily shut down operations in late February after finding it had exceeded its air pollution limits. This citation wasn’t the end: Freepoint has since received multiple notices of violation from the Ohio EPA.

As violations mount, Amanda worries for the health of the surrounding community. The facility is located next to a residential neighborhood and schools, including a Purple Star elementary school a few miles away that serves military families.

Amanda is committed to helping safeguard health by holding lawmakers and environmental protection agencies accountable for doing their jobs protecting them from advanced recycling pollution. She says: “Without strong protections in place and enforcement, infants, children, and families near these facilities are at risk of serious illness.”

Communities Say “No” to Advanced Recycling

Freepoint is one of fewer than 10 so-called advanced recycling facilities operating in the United States, but at least 40 others have been proposed or are under construction, and the plastics industry has plans to build over 100 more.

Lani Wean is on the front lines fighting one of the facilities proposed in her state of West Virginia. Clean-Seas West Virginia is being built near her home in the Kanawha Valley, a short distance away from two schools and a public library. To add insult to injury, the site is just down the road from the Chemours chemical plant in the town of Belle, which has a long history of leaks and chemical disasters. This means that the toxic air pollutants and other hazardous byproducts from Clean Seas would be coupled with the already significant pollution in the area.

Lani’s work to raise awareness of the potential pollution from the facility has centered on sharing accurate information with the community and its leaders and serving as a go-between with legal and technical experts and her neighbors. “Our families deserve transparency and the opportunity for public input when industrial polluters propose to move into our neighborhoods,” says Lani. She has taken to radio, print, and social media to spread the word about Clean-Seas’ threat. She spoke with elected officials and council members about the impacts advanced recycling pollution can have on health. And she partnered with other groups like The Black Appalachian Coalition (BLAC) to keep residents informed.

As the families in West Virginia continue to speak up against the proposed Clean Seas facility, they are inspired by the wins seen in other states. Just next door in Pennsylvania, advanced recycling companies Encina and Alterra canceled their plans to build plastics incinerators when communities came together to protest them.

The Encina plant, slated for Point Township, was Pennsylvania’s first proposed advanced recycling plant and would have been the largest in the nation. The company ultimately withdrew its plans in 2024 following vigorous community opposition, permitting deficiencies, rejection by the zoning board, and a unanimous opposition resolution from the neighboring Northumberland Borough Council. Rachel Meyer, who was part of the coalition of groups organizing against advanced recycling buildout in Pennsylvania, said, “This win for the people of Northumberland County and beyond shows that when people receive facts about advanced recycling, people see it is not a solution to the plastic crisis but rather a source of toxic air and water pollution for communities across the state.” More of this article (Mother Jones) - link - more like this (advanced recycling) - link - more like this (Ohio) - link - more like this (plastic) - link