To meet our nation’s economic and environmental goals, America needs a comprehensive energy policy that draws on our nation’s diverse energy supplies, including renewable and alternative sources such as energy recovery from plastics.
Policy Background
Given our nation’s need to control energy costs and improve energy security, many policymakers are calling for a comprehensive national energy policy that promotes and develops all of America’s own energy resources—conventional and
shale natural gas, oil, wind, nuclear, solar, etc.—to diversify energy supply.
One source of energy derived from plastics could further expand the diversity of America's energy supply.
Technologies today are able to recover the energy contained in plastics. Plastics have a high energy content that can be converted to electricity, synthetic gas, fuels and recycled feedstocks for new plastics and other products of chemistry.
Recovering this abundant energy also reduces waste sent to landfills and
complements plastics recycling. Energy recovery is rapidly becoming viewed as another source of clean or renewable energy.
ACC’s Policy Position
Our nation’s energy policy must harness all of America’s energy sources, including recovering energy from waste, to continue creating the innovative products and jobs our economy needs, strengthen our economy, improve our energy security and promote sustainable energy production.
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Definitions of renewable energy should be broadened to include energy from non-recycled plastics. Many government bodies and laws—EPA, 24 states, the Energy Policy Act of 2005—already recognize energy recovery as a source of renewable energy.
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Regulations and permitting processes should not discourage the establishment of new energy recovery capacity.