Evergreen Process Guide • As of February 2026
Recycling Processes: Mechanical, Chemical, and Enzymatic
Recycling is not one process. It is an operating system of pathways that must be chosen by feedstock profile, recovery objective, and compliance context.
Direct Answers
Who
Municipal operators, converters, and brand owners that depend on recycled-content claims need process-level clarity, not generic recycling language.
What
Recycling now operates as multiple lanes: closed-loop mechanical, open-loop mechanical, and plastic-to-plastic chemical conversion.
Where
Commercial scale-up signals are visible in Europe and the U.S., including major advanced-recycling investments and first-batch outputs.
Why
With global leakage and low effective recycling rates, facilities need more robust pathways for mixed and contaminated streams.
How
Use a tiered strategy: preserve clean streams for mechanical loops, route hard fractions to advanced conversion, and publish transparent assumptions.
Process Comparison Table
| Process Lane | Best-Fit Feedstock | 2026 Signal | Operational Constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed-loop mechanical recycling | Clean, sorted streams (for example, PET bottle-to-bottle pathways). | Still the backbone of circular systems and required for high-quality recycled content economics. | Highly sensitive to contamination and feedstock variability. |
| Open-loop mechanical recycling | Applications where material can be reused in different product categories. | Critical for diverting volume where closed-loop purity is not feasible. | Can lead to lower-value outputs and weaker long-term circularity if not managed deliberately. |
| Plastic-to-plastic chemical conversion | Mixed, multilayer, or difficult streams that challenge mechanical systems. | Commercial momentum is visible through 2025-2026 investments and plant start-ups. | Performance and climate outcomes depend on process design, yield, and downstream routing. |
| Enzymatic depolymerization (PET-focused) | PET-rich fractions where monomer recovery quality is the strategic goal. | Commercialization is progressing with announced plant timelines and policy incentives in France. | Feedstock prep, crystallinity, and scale-up economics remain key execution variables. |
Commercial Scale-Up Signals (2025-2026)
U.S. advanced recycling buildout
ExxonMobil announced expansion spending above $200 million with new operations expected in 2026 and a larger 2027 capacity target.
European pyrolysis output signal
SABIC and Plastic Energy reported the first batch of pyrolysis oil from their Geleen project in 2025, signaling operational progress.
Enzymatic PET commercialization
Carbios outlined revised commercial timelines and highlighted France's financial incentive for qualifying biorecycled outputs.