Case Study
Breaking down molecular recycling for manufacturers, investors and policymakers

A groundbreaking guide to cutting-edge plastics recovery technologies

The Challenge

While plastics recycling is a growing industry, many plastic items are still wasted in landfills, and just 9% of the plastics ever produced have been recycled. Along with reuse and traditional recycling methods, molecular recycling offers a path to recovering more used plastics and converting them into valuable materials — but many manufacturers, investors and policymakers don’t have the knowledge and data to comprehensively explore this option. Evaluating the possibilities is a particularly daunting task because the molecular recycling category includes many different technologies, from chemical recycling such as pyrolysis, to processes that use enzymes, sound waves or other technologies to break plastics down at the molecular level to create new materials. Recognizing the need for a rigorous comparative analysis that could evaluate the innovative technologies in this space, we embarked on a groundbreaking study with support from Target Corporation, Bank of America Foundation, the American Chemistry Council, Colgate-Palmolive Company, 3M and Sealed Air Corporation.

‍

$1B

potential revenue from integrating molecular recycling into North American plastics recycling

35M+

metric tons of plastics landfilled or incinerated in the U.S. and Canada each year

30

peer reviewers participated in the study

255%+

increase in demand for food-grade recycled plastics in North America in the last five years

The Solution

Data on molecular recycling is often proprietary and guarded closely by early-stage innovators in the sector. To overcome this barrier, we designed a comparative study involving nine participating companies, which enabled us to aggregate and anonymize vast datasets. Using a portfolio approach, we grouped each innovator into one of three technology categories: purification, which uses solvents to remove additives and color; depolymerization, which breaks down one kind of plastic at a time; and conversion, which can process and break down mixed plastics. For each portfolio, we collaborated with participating innovators to produce an equivalent amount of finished materials, then conducted lifecycle analyses to compare each technology category. The results were instructive and encouraging: all three technology categories demonstrated the potential to reduce carbon emissions and use fewer virgin chemicals compared to the manufacture of virgin plastics.

“This report is a valuable guide to an emerging technology sector. Investors have been handed a primer on the important questions to ask in order to understand a company’s potential and impact.”

— Grant Thompson, Managing Director, UBS

Impact

We published the findings in a groundbreaking report that shows how integrating molecular recycling technologies into plastics recycling systems could double the amount of plastic packaging recycled in North America — and generate up to 1 billion dollars (USD) each year. The report is one of our most downloaded and widely read reports, and has been used extensively by investors, corporations, NGOs and industry groups seeking profitable, less wasteful and less carbon-intensive ways to recover hard-to-recycle plastics.

Our Role

Research

  • Data collection
  • Benchmarking against industry data
  • ROI calculations
  • Technical analysis
  • Environmental and human health analysis
  • Policy analysis
  • Writing and peer review process
  • Anonymizingand aggregating proprietary data

Design

  • Release report to share learnings industry-wide

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Build

Download and read the full report

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We are  part of Closed Loop Partners—which includes the largest privately held recycling company in the U.S. and one of the largest circular economy capital management groups in the world—we’re uniquely positioned to bring research, design, and real-world implementation together.