By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering regulating chemical recycling, a controversial technology that aims to convert mixed plastic waste into fuel or energy.

The EPA published a notice in Federal Register this month stating that it needs more information on pyrolysis, or gasification. It is also considering whether they can be regulated by the federal Clean Air Act.

The Federal Register notice stated that the Agency believed there was a lot of confusion within the regulatory community about the application of Clean Air Act Section 129 to pyrolysis or gasification units.

As a solution to plastic waste issues, advanced recycling facilities can be used to transform hard-torecycled plastics, solid and biosolid waste, tires, and other wastes into fuels or energy.

Reuters’s earlier investigation found that not all of these facilities process much waste. Reuters examined the 30 projects of two-dozen advanced companies on three continents. It found that many are either still operating on a very small scale, or have shut down. Furthermore, more than half were years behind on their previously stated commercial plans.

American Chemistry Council urged U.S. legislators to adopt legislation that would encourage advanced recycling. 14 states in the United States have already passed advanced recycling laws which would exempt chemical recycle facilities from recycling and solid waste laws.

According to the EPA, it’s currently preparing a detailed questionnaire that will collect information about dozens of larger-scale pyrolysis or gasification units. This includes construction dates, startup dates, and details on project design.

November 8th will be the last day for comments.