Chemical Recycling is an “Oxymoron” because it is a scientific fact that chemical reactions change the composition of polymers and fulfil the definition for “recovery” of the Waste Directive.
The same is the case for Feedstock Recycling.
Mechanical recycling and solvent-based purification (dissolution) belong both to the category Physical Recycling and both enable the “re-use” of the polymer without down-cycling to raw-materials or feedstock (e.g. fuel, syngas, hydrocarbons) or building blocks of polymers, which have to be polymerized again to bring them back into the cycle.
Physical Recycling fulfils the criteria for “recycling” of the Waste Directive.
Only a combination of “Feedstock Recovery” with a new Polymerization could be considered as “recycling”.
