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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Chemical pollution · United States · 2024–2025

US chemical recycling plants run far below capacity, and some have closed

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Plants sold as advanced recycling processed a small share of their declared capacity, and at least one closed in 2024. At ExxonMobil's Baytown plant, about 92% of the feed was mostly converted into fuel.

What?
Chemical recycling plants in the United States, which convert plastic into oil and fuel, have processed far less than their declared capacity, and at least one has closed. Waste Today
Where?
Atlanta, Georgia (Nexus Circular) and Oregon (Regenyx). The Brightmark and Fulcrum plant locations are not given in the sources reviewed. Waste Today
When?
Plant figures reported in 2024; the Regenyx closure took place in 2024; the state classification review is dated July 2025. Waste Today
Who?
Gained
  • ExxonMobil — Markets its Baytown process as advanced recycling; about 92% of the feed is mostly converted into fuel
  • US states that classify pyrolysis as manufacturing — Exempt such plants from solid waste rules (27 states) National Law Review
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Plastic is converted by pyrolysis into oil, which the sources describe as largely used as fuel at the Baytown plant; 27 states class such plants as manufacturing rather than waste treatment. National Law Review
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Waste Today, citing Lux Research, reported that Brightmark's plant with a 200 million lb capacity processed only 4 million lb in 2024.

Waste Today also reported that Nexus Circular, in Atlanta, produced 1,700 tons of pyrolysis oil over three years.

Daily Climate reported that Oregon's Regenyx plant processed 40% of its declared capacity before closing in 2024, and that Fulcrum defaulted on USD 289 million in bonds.

National Law Review reported in July 2025 that 27 states classify advanced recycling as manufacturing and exempt it from solid waste rules, while Maine, New Jersey and New Mexico do the opposite.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: chemical recycling accounts for 0.1% of global plastic output (2026); the source for this figure is not identified in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not describe the health or environmental effects of the chemical recycling plants themselves.
    • None on record The locations of the Brightmark and Fulcrum plants are not given in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

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    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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