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Industry: Advanced recycling is a solution to plastic crisis

Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) CORRECTS LAST NAME TO DEBENEDICTIS FROM BENDICTIS - Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Staff from Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, lead a tour of their facility that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in making plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) The Alterra Energy plant that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in the manufacture of plastics, sits in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Ground up plastics that Alterra Energy receives from recycling facilities, move along a conveyor at the start of their process that transforms the material into a liquid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from the facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) An operator moves a fork lift into position at Alterra Energy to move pallets of stored ground up plastics the company receives from recycling facilities to their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The U.S. facilities currently recycling plastic into new plastic are small — the largest is the 60-ton-per-day plant Alterra Energy, according to the ACC. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy in Akron, Ohio, tosses a plastic bottle cap onto the conveyor of ground up plastics the company receives from recycling facilities at the start of their process that recycles plastics back into a fluid that is used in the manufacture of plastics on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Jeremy Bendictis, President of Alterra Energy, talks about how the company receives plastics from recycling facilities and processes it into a fluid that is then used in the manufacture of plastic, from their facility in Akron, Ohio on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, left, watches as an operator moves a loading machine into position at the company to drop a scoop of ground up plastics the company receives from recycling facilities to their facility in Akron, Ohio. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Monica Huertas, left, and Linda Perri, right, both of Providence, R.I., stand for a photograph in a neighborhood in Providence that features industrial businesses, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. In Rhode Island, state lawmakers considered a bill this year to exempt such facilities from solid waste licensing requirements. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Monica Huertas, left, and Dwayne Keys, right, both of Providence, R.I., stand for a photograph in a neighborhood in Providence that features industrial businesses, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. In Rhode Island, state lawmakers considered a bill this year to exempt such facilities from solid waste licensing requirements. Keys said it’s unfair that he and his neighbors always have to be on guard for proposals like these, unlike residents in some of the state’s wealthy, white neighborhoods. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) An operator moves a loading machine into position at Alterra Energy to scoop stored ground up plastics the company receives from recycling facilities to their facility in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. The plastics industry says there is a way to help solve solution to the crisis of plastic waste plaguing the ocean, beaches and lands across the globe. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Jeremy DeBenedictis, President of Alterra Energy, stands in the storage area of shredded plastics his company receives from recycling facilities in their facility in Akron, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. “Our mission is to solve plastic pollution,” said DeBenedictis, company president. “That is not just a tag line. We all truly want to solve plastic pollution.” (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)