The fire burning, the banjo playing, the stories, and the sweet aromatic smell of grains—nothing is more Americana than the moonshiner, risking it all to provide for their families while battling the government. Today, a modern equivalent exists, but instead of distilling spirits, they’re producing something we all use—plastic.
In his latest piece for RealClearMarkets, Market Institute President Charles Sauer highlights the regulatory uncertainty surrounding advanced recyclers, an industry that could revolutionize plastics recycling. Unlike traditional recycling, which often fails economically and environmentally, advanced recycling presents a real business case:
“Today, there are a lot of ways in which recycling doesn’t make sense. Currently, the environmental benefit is questionable, the usefulness is questionable, the business case doesn’t exist, and the percentage of products actually recycled is abysmal. But, the neat thing about advanced recyclers is that they make the business case for recycling by basically creating a new endless supply of materials.”
These recyclers use heat and chemical separation—much like distillers—to extract reusable plastics, increasing recycling efficiency and reducing waste. But instead of embracing this innovation, regulators are getting in the way.
“The problem is that the industry is so regulated that there is no assurance that what these advanced recyclers can do is even legal. For one, the process also looks very close to trash incineration—so there is a question of whether the extracted product is plastic or trash.”
Rather than outdated policies that stifle innovation, we need regulatory clarity that allows this industry to flourish. The environmental and economic benefits are clear. Will policymakers step up, or will advanced recyclers be left to fight like the moonshiners of old?
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