CHEMICAL recycling of plastic through a process called pyrolysis is a concept that makes sense at a very basic level. If plastic can be broken down into its constituent molecules, that chemical soup, a form of synthetic crude oil, can then be used to make all manner of new products such as new plastic items — which could, of course, be recycled again in an endless loop of 'product circularity' — synthetic fuels such as diesel and aviation fuel, and other chemicals. The idea is heavily promoted by the petrochemical sector, which regards the world's overwhelming problem with plastic pollution as a waste management rather than a production problem and is even viewed favorably by a minority of sustainability advocates.

The reality that keeps an idea such as chemical recycling on the table is that the obvious solution to rescue a world drowning in plastic, which is to simply stop producing it, is absolutely impossible. For better or worse, we have created a civilization made of plastic, to the extent that we would instantly throw ourselves back to the Stone Age if it were to disappear.