Polymer recycling is becoming directly linked to “mandatory recycled content requirements”—policymakers are no longer merely encouraging recycling but are “locking” demand for recycled materials into supply chains through mandatory blending ratios and recyclability thresholds. Many countries around the world are introducing mandatory recycled content policies. For example, the EU’s PPWR requires that by 2030, the recycled content in certain plastic packaging be no less than 30%, and China’s “Recycled Material Applications” also explicitly calls for promoting the use of recycled materials. Driven by policy, cross-border matching of supply and demand for recycled plastics has become a rigid necessity.

Traditional plastic recycling solutions are dominated by mechanical recycling. Chemical recycling, because it can process low-value mixed materials and multi-layer composite materials that mechanical recycling cannot handle, can handle more complex and contaminated waste plastics compared with mechanical recycling, making plastic recycling operations more comprehensive, and its products can be directly used in high-standard fields such as food contact. It is therefore regarded as the key technology that closes this final loop, and as a result, industry certainty and capital attention have risen markedly.

In practice, a number of chemical companies, including BASF and ExxonMobil, have already positioned themselves in the field of waste plastic chemical recycling. Niutech, with its waste plastic pyrolysis technology and equipment, has entered the core segment of waste plastic chemical recycling (i.e., “plastic-to-oil”); industry peers around the world are working together to promote the application of waste plastic chemical recycling.

I. Policy-Driven Development of Waste Plastic Chemical Recycling

The global plastics treaty negotiations (the INC process) are underway, and the industry generally supports establishing a legally binding international instrument to scale up action, accelerate plastic circularity, and unlock the value of waste plastics. If the convention establishes rules such as global recycling rate targets, recycled content targets, and recyclability requirements, these rules will directly affect the market space for chemical recycling projects.

The alignment between the plastic amendment to the Basel Convention and the rules of the global plastics treaty will ensure that cross-border flows of waste plastic feedstock have rules to follow and reduce compliance uncertainty.

Industry analysis notes that global excess demand for recycled materials currently exceeds 6 million tons per year, and this figure may continue to grow. However, many countries lack sufficient local processing capacity, and without international market matching mechanisms, EPR (extended producer responsibility) programs may be unable to fully unlock value. Therefore, establishing standardized and verifiable cross-border trade rules for recycled feedstocks that enable pre-certified buyers and sellers to match efficiently is a direction the industry can jointly promote.

II. Chemical Recycling Capacity Building and Project Incubation

From 2024 to 2026, waste plastic chemical recycling is moving from industrial trials to large-scale commercial use, with capacity growing rapidly. During the same period, the mandatory requirements for recycled materials under PPWR are being fulfilled, fully validating the results of policy drivers. On this basis, a large number of industry leaders in waste plastic chemical recycling have emerged. As mentioned above, Niutech focuses on the R&D, application, and implementation of plastic pyrolysis equipment and has worked on the core segment of “plastic-to-oil” in waste plastic treatment projects in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Denmark, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, creating considerable economic and environmental benefits and earning a strong international reputation.

Using recycled materials not only allows companies to lock in stable and economical medium- to long-term raw material costs and enhance their ability to withstand cyclical risks, but also reduces the carbon footprint of products. As global attention to carbon emissions across the full life cycle of plastics increases, chemical recycling projects, through unified carbon footprint accounting methods, will enable the low-carbon value of recycled plastics to gain recognition and premiums in international markets.