Louise Salle 08:05, March 18, 2022
On the occasion of World Recycling Day, zoom in on chemical recycling.
A sector in full expansion, but which requires increased investments in order to develop further.
But for the government, the priority is not recycling but reuse, which environmental players deplore.
What is chemical recycling?
Thanks to this technique, all of the plastic material can be recovered.
A sector in full expansion.
"There are many announcements that have been made by American industrialists or by Total by 2024", explains researcher Stéphane Bruzaud.
"But it's true that it's immediate profitability that's at stake. You first have to invest tens of millions of euros. There's an initial investment which is heavy, which is very heavy and cannot only be profitable over a relatively long period of time."
Increase investment
But to eliminate single-use plastic, it is impossible to be satisfied with this method.
It is also necessary to develop reuse by bulk or deposit.
The only problem?
It is at the bottom of the pile of government strategies.
An investment will make it possible to develop it further.
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“Today, there are 9 euros of public money which are spent on recycling for 1 euro for reuse”, estimates Juliette Franquet, director of Zero Waste France.
"I would therefore like to remind you that there is legislation that puts reduction and reuse before recycling. We should have more investment in these sectors which are much better for the environment."
In 2020, in France, only 28 of the plastics collected were thus recycled, according to the Cité organization where it is.