Indiana Lawmakers Overwhelmingly Pass Advanced Recycling Legislation to Boost Economy, Help End Plastic Waste

WASHINGTON, DC  — Today, Indiana became the 24^th state in the country to adopt legislation so advanced recycling facilities are transparently and properly regulated as manufacturing operations.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is pleased to learn of the strong bipartisan support of SB 472 — passing 94-1 in the House, 44-5 in the Senate — which could generate more than $222 million for Indiana each year and upwards of 900 jobs in the state.

“This bill is a win-win for the state of Indiana. It will bring green collar jobs to our local economy, boost tax revenue from business investments, and reduce plastics in landfills and our environment,” said State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper), a mechanical engineer who authored the bill. “I’m glad my colleagues on both sides of the aisle voted overwhelmingly for SB 472.”

Advanced recycling is a manufacturing process that uses chemistry to enable significantly more plastics to be recycled than traditional recycling technologies, including often hard-to-recycle films and mixed plastics. Instead of having to send these valuable plastics to landfills or burning them for energy, technologies used in advanced recycling enable recyclers to convert used plastics back into raw materials to produce new virgin-equivalent plastics and chemical products without burning the plastic material.

SB 472 establishes these technologies remain subject to applicable manufacturing regulations and applies a regulatory framework for advanced recycling facilities that welcomes future investment in Indiana.

“As a manufacturer of products made with advanced recycling, we are excited for potential new advanced recycling capacity in Indiana. Laws such as this will foster growth in the technology so we can continue to increase the circularity of plastic products,” said Robert Flores, vice president of sustainability at Berry Global, headquartered in Evansville, Ind. “The law also gives consumers more confidence with third-party certifications being recognized, such as the ISCC PLUS certification used by our manufacturing sites in Evansville, Franklin and Odon, Ind.”

Indiana’s new law recognizes independent, third-party certification systems to trace, measure and verify recycled plastics made from advanced recycling.

“With Indiana’s support, there are now 24 states that see advanced recycling as an important part of efforts to increase recycling, accelerate a circular economy and serve as a model for the rest of the country,” said Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at ACC. “Since states began regulating advanced recycling in 2017, more than 40 facility projects have been announced with the potential to divert more than 16 billion pounds of waste from landfills a year.”

ACC applauds Indiana’s state legislators and Gov. Holcomb for recognizing the value of advanced recycling and for passing this important legislation.

American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division

The American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division represents America’s Plastic Makers^SM plus the half million+ scientists, engineers, technicians, and other innovators who make plastics for many essential and lifesaving products that are vital to modern life. America’s Plastic Makers continue to embrace change. We’re linking innovation with sustainability, deploying next generation technologies to make plastics lighter, stronger, more efficient and more recyclable, so we can meet our goal for 100% of U.S. plastic packaging to be reused, recycled, or recovered by 2040. We’re making sustainable change to help build a cleaner, safer, more sustainable future for generations to come. 

American Chemistry Council

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the multibillion-dollar business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products, technologies and services that make people’s lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health, safety and security performance through Responsible Care®; common sense advocacy addressing major public policy issues; and health and environmental research and product testing. ACC members and chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development, and are advancing products, processes and technologies to address climate change, enhance air and water quality, and progress toward a more sustainable, circular economy.