At a time when the world is confronting the severe challenge of plastic pollution, innovation in plastic recycling is emerging as a key to unlocking this environmental dilemma. According to statistics, the global plastics industry has cumulatively produced over 10 billion tons of plastic, of which more than 80% has ultimately become waste, resulting in an enormous squandering of resources. Faced with such a vast stockpile of “white pollution,” traditional landfilling and incineration have proven unsustainable, and the advantages of chemical recycling of plastics are now becoming evident—namely, its ability to convert low-value waste plastics that are difficult to recycle into valuable energy resources and chemical feedstocks, thereby achieving a complete closed loop from waste to new products.
I. The Global Market for Chemical Recycling of Plastics: Explosive Growth on the Horizon
The global market for chemical recycling of plastics is experiencing unprecedented growth opportunities. According to the latest industry data, global sales of chemically recycled plastics reached 1.37 million tons in 2025, with a market size estimated at $17.62 billion. By 2035, sales are projected to surge to approximately 11.9 million tons, with the market size reaching $47.6 billion.
Behind these figures lies the urgent global demand for sustainable plastic solutions. As environmental awareness continues to grow among governments, businesses, and consumers, chemical recycling is transitioning from “technology pilot” to a core driver of industry development.
II. Plastic Pyrolysis: The Core Technological Pathway in Chemical Recycling
Among various chemical recycling technologies, plastic pyrolysis stands out with clear advantages and dominates the sector. In 2025, the pyrolysis segment held a leading market position with nearly 44% of the sales volume share. The core strength of pyrolysis lies in its feedstock flexibility and its high efficiency in processing plastics that are difficult to recycle. Through superheating, the technology converts plastics into high-value products such as oil and gas.
Compared with traditional mechanical recycling, plastic pyrolysis can process complex, mixed, and contaminated waste plastics—such as low-value plastics like used shopping bags, courier bags, takeout containers, and agricultural film. These plastics, which previously were mostly landfilled or incinerated due to the high cost and low efficiency of mechanical recycling, now find a green, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon solution through pyrolysis.
Policy frameworks in Europe and North America, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) and mandatory recycled content standards, are compelling brand owners to seek high-quality sources of recycled materials. Meanwhile, the EU’s revised Emissions Trading System(ETS) Directive has decided to include municipal solid waste incineration facilities in the carbon trading system by no later than the end of 2030, further driving the shift of waste plastics from incineration to chemical recycling.
III. Niutech: A Benchmark Contribution from a Chinese Enterprise in the Global Chemical Recycling Arena
Niutech, a listed Chinese enterprise, has specialized in pyrolysis technology for over 30 years and stands as a leader in the field with core technological expertise. Its self-developed “Industrial Continuous Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Production Line” employs precise temperature-controlled heating of the high-molecular polymers in waste plastics to produce high-value-added products such as pyrolysis oil, solid fuel, and non-condensable combustible gas, thereby achieving harmless, volume-reducing, and resource-recycling treatment of waste plastics.
Niutech’s technology has been successfully deployed in multiple countries and regions worldwide, serving as a verifiable, replicable, and scalable model for chemical recycling of waste plastics.
An internationally renowned group adopted Niutech’s “New Generation • Large-Scale Industrial Continuous Intelligent Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Technology and Integrated Equipment” to invest in and construct a high-end chemical recycling plant for waste plastics, successfully achieving a complete chemical recycling closed loop from waste plastics to new plastics.
As global demand for sustainable plastic solutions continues to grow, chemical recycling capacity is expanding at an unprecedented pace. Chemical recycling of waste plastics is evolving from a purely environmental technology into a complete industrial chain encompassing sorting, pretreatment, pyrolysis, and deep processing. Major petrochemical companies such as BASF and Shell are entering the field and strategically positioning themselves in plastic chemical recycling, and such industrial synergy will accelerate technological progress, reduce costs, and drive market-scale development. The Danish project invested in by BASF adopts Niutech’s waste plastic pyrolysis equipment to produce pyrolysis oil, which is further processed into plastic products, achieving same-grade circular utilization of waste plastics.
Chinese enterprises like Niutech, with their leading pyrolysis technologies and commercial project experience, are playing an increasingly significant role in the global revolution against plastic pollution and in the energy transition.
Driven by technological advances, policy support, and market demand, sustainable plastic solutions will replace traditional recycling methods and continue to expand in scale. Chemical recycling will become a core pathway for achieving closed-loop plastic circularity and advancing the “dual-carbon” goals. This represents not only a business opportunity worth hundreds of billions of dollars but also a crucial technological lever for reshaping material circulation systems and driving sustainable transformation across industries.