The Scale of the Problem
Every year, approximately 350 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated globally. Of this, less than 10% is effectively recycled. The remaining 90%+ either ends up in landfills, is incinerated with minimal energy recovery, leaks into the environment, or is exported to countries with limited waste management infrastructure.
The non-recyclable fraction — mixed, contaminated, multi-layer, and composite plastics — represents the hardest challenge. These materials cannot be processed by conventional mechanical recycling plants, and their disposal represents both an environmental liability and an economic loss.
The Hidden Value
What most people don't realize is that non-recyclable plastic waste is carbon-rich. Polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and other common plastics are essentially solidified hydrocarbons — the same carbon that powers our ships, factories, and industrial infrastructure.
When this material sits in a landfill, that carbon is locked away uselessly, slowly degrading and releasing methane. When it's burned in uncontrolled settings, the energy is wasted and emissions are unmanaged.
A Better Path
Advanced conversion technologies like CarbonM Fuelmax's Oleum V1 can unlock this carbon and convert it into circular fuel/feedstock suitable for industrial applications. Combined with Alkanalyze's intelligence layer for quality control and process optimization, this creates a pathway from waste liability to industrial resource.
The key insight is that we don't need to make these plastics "recyclable" in the traditional sense. We need to create industrial systems that can reliably convert them into useful products — and do so with consistency, traceability, and environmental responsibility.
What This Means
For waste operators, this means a new value stream for material that currently costs money to dispose of. For industrial fuel buyers, it means access to a circular alternative to fossil fuels. For policymakers, it means a practical pathway for managing plastic waste that the recycling system cannot absorb.
The carbon is already there. We just need the right technology to unlock it.