Plastic Chemical Recycling Market

Plastic Chemical Recycling Market Size

The global plastic chemical recycling market was estimated at USD 248.5 million in 2024. The market is expected to grow from USD 314.5 million in 2025 to USD 1.6 billion in 2034, at a CAGR of 21.2%, according to latest report published by Global Market Insights Inc.

• There is a shift in the plastic chemical recycling market toward advanced recycling methods. These methods convert mixed, contaminated, and typically unrecyclable plastics into monomers, fuels, and high-purity polymers, delivering on the goals of circularity and reduced reliance on landfills.
  
• Polyolefins dominate the feedstock segment, with 50% of the share in 2024, due to their wide range of applications and the most suitability towards pyrolysis and gasification methods. Polyesters (PET) is driven by depolymerization methods that permit high-purity monomer recovery closed-loop recycling.
  
• Pyrolysis remains the leading technology due to the volume of waste that can be processed and is relatively easy to scale, along with the accepted use of polyolefins and mixed plastics to convert feed stocks into fuels. Depolymerization and solvolysis of PET and polystyrene are expected to grow at a 21.3% CAGR in the forecast period, as these methods become acceptable in companies to recover monomers for closed-loop production.
  
• The application segment is largely dominated by petrochemical feedstock and polymer production, while the fuel production segment is projected to improve due to waste-to-energy efforts being implemented. Specialty applications will continue to grow as chemical feedstock is made using purification and dissolution technologies that meet quality assurance standards across multiple industries, including high-performance polymers and additive manufacturing materials.
  
• In 2025, Packaging is expected to lead the market with 40% market share due to regulatory mandates and high consumption of polyolefins and PET. The automotive sector, growth is being seen in the use of recycled content for materials, especially within the interiors and bumpers of vehicles. Within construction, there's been an increase in use of recycled resin in pipes and insulation. Textiles are formatted for a higher growth, as there is more emphasis on preparing recycled PET fibers to support the economy in a circular manner.
  
• Europe is leading the market due to strict regulations, extended producer responsibility policies, and some industrial adoption of recycled content in various plastic products across different industries since the market currently comprises of more recycled resin than any other region. The marketplace in North America is benefitting from the potential for federal governmental incentives, along with existing infrastructure for recycling and reprocessing recycled plastics into materials and products.
  
• The growth potential in Asia Pacific is the most dynamic due to industrialization and higher consumptions of plastics across multiple markets. In Latin America and MEA, growth is also continuing based on sustainability initiatives and investments in recycling plants, along with increasing environmental awareness bodies throughout packaging, automotive, and construction sectors.

Plastic Chemical Recycling Market Trends

• The plastic chemical recycling industry is experiencing a transition towards advanced technologies such as pyrolysis, depolymerization, and solvolysis, allowing for the recycling of mixed plastic waste and contaminated plastic waste.  These processes convert polymers back into monomers or fuels, enabling circularity and reducing the reliance on landfilling. Increased investments in R&D and company partnerships  moving pilot stages to commercial scale are speeding this shift.  Governments and large petrochemical companies are jointly venturing to integrate chemical recycling solutions into current supply chains.
  
• A major market trend facilitating market expansion is an increase in all types of strategic partnerships between recyclers, polymer producers, consumer products companies, and waste management companies.  The goals of these partnerships is to secure a stable feedstock supply and capacity to recycle, increase recycling rates, and meet their stakeholders interests in sustainability and climate change.  Global brands are increasingly focused on sourcing and using chemically recycled polymers to meet their commitments to Circular economy packaging.  Furthermore, regulatory support particularly in Europe and North America is catalyzing an industry shift toward circular economy. 
  

Plastic Chemical Recycling Market Analysis

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Based on feedstock type, the market is divided into polyolefins, polyesters (PET), polystyrene (PS), mixed plastic waste, and others.

• In 2024, Polyolefins hold major chunk of the market valued at USD 124.3 million, due to continuous use in packaging and consumer goods and automotive applications and their amenability to pyrolysis and gasification technologies.
  
• Polyesters (PET) hold 20% of the market in 2024, mostly due to demand for recycled PET in packaging and more recently, textiles, while novel depolymerization and solvolysis technologies achieve high-purity monomer recovery for closed-loop recycling.
  
• Polystyrene (PS) is a developing market segment since dissolution and depolymerization technologies could recover styrene monomers for reuse in packaging and electronics applications.
  
• The mixed plastic waste segment is expected to grow at 20.9% CAGR as chemical recycling effectively processes heterogeneous and contaminated plastics that cannot be handled by mechanical recycling.
  

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Based on technology, the market is classified into pyrolysis, gasification, depolymerization, solvolysis, and purification/dissolution.

• In 2024, pyrolysis accounted for the leading share of the plastic chemical recycling market, worth USD 136.7 million, based on its capacity to convert polyolefins and a mixed wrought plastic waste stream into fuels and petrochemical feedstocks.
  
• Gasification represented 20% share of the market in 2024, driven by increased demand for syngas as an intermediate in fuels and chemical manufacturing. Gasification also can accept mixed or contaminated plastics which mechanical recycling cannot process.
  
• Depolymerization is gaining traction as it is capable of recovering monomers from PET and also polystyrene for feedstock to regenerate polymers in a closed-loop fashion. Depolymerization is estimated at 21.3% CAGR as its incorporated into additional industries, like packaging and textile.
  
• Solvolysis represents a more advanced form of chemical recycling for multi-layer and hard-to-recycle plastics by giving rise to virgin-equivalent polymers. Increased use of purification/dissolution technologies are being utilized to recover high-purity polymers, for specialized uses.
  

Based on application, the plastic chemical recycling market is classified into petrochemical feedstock, polymer production, chemical manufacturing, fuel production, and specialty applications.

• In 2024, petrochemical feedstock applications generated USD 99.4 million, as chemical recycling takes post-consumer plastics into feedstock for fuels and other chemicals.
  
• Polymer production comprised 30% of the market in 2024, propelled by closed-loop recycling initiatives undertaken in the packaging and textile sectors.  Depolymerization and solvolysis can enable the recovery of high-quality monomers needed to synthesize new polymers.
  
• Chemical manufacturing is an emerging application segment, using recycled plastics as intermediates to produce specialty chemicals. Fuel production sector is flourishing based on heightened demand for alternative energy and waste to energy initiatives. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.4% through 2034.
  
• Specialty applications such as high-performance polymers and additive manufacturing materials will continue to capture market share, as research in purification and dissolving continues to advance.
  

Based on end user, the plastic chemical recycling market is classified into packaging, petrochemicals & chemicals, automotive, construction & building, textiles & fashion, and electronics.

• The packaging segment is driven by state regulations concerning recycled content and the high-volume consumption of polyolefins and PET where automotive industry hold 15% market share in 2024 and is supported by demand for lightweight, recycled plastics in components such as interior components, bumpers, and components under-the-hood
  
• The construction & building market is a fast-growing segment that adopts recycled plastic for use in applications such as pipes, insulation, and paneling. The market is expected to grow at a 20.3% CAGR through 2034 as more sustainable building materials are utilized.
  
• Textiles & clothing are implementing chemically recycled PET in fibers and fabrics instead of virgin materials to drive circular economy initiatives. Electronics uses recycled polymers in components, casings, and connectors, and benefits from dissolution and purification technologies to meet quality-related specifications.
  
• Petrochemicals & chemicals is an emerging end-use sector utilizing chemically recycled plastics to create feedstock to fuel development of other fuels, specialty chemicals, and polymers.
  

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The total plastic chemical recycling market in North America experienced an increase and now sits at USD 74.6 million in 2024 for an estimated total global share of about 30%. 

• In 2024, U.S market valued USD 62.1 million as market is driven by strong regulatory support, increasing environmental awareness, and already established recycling infrastructure.
  
• The region is seeing new advanced chemical recycling facilities developed, whilst the adoption of pyrolysis and depolymerization technologies is expanding. The packaging, automotive and electronics sectors will dominate as end-use industries operating in this market. Companies are increasing/offering the use of recycled plastic to meet sustainability targets.
  

In 2024, Europe held the lead in the worldwide plastic chemical recycling market, with an estimated total value of USD 111.8 million and close to a 45% share of the market.

• Market growth in this region are driven by stringent EU regulations on single-use plastics, extended producer responsibility policies, and high adoption of recycled PET and polyolefins. Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain be the biggest contributors.
  
• Chemical recycling technologies including depolymerization, solvolysis and pyrolysis have become widespread to meet strict sustainability obligations.
  
• European market are estimated to grow at a steady pace throughout 2034, as both industrial adoption across the packaging, automotive, and textiles sectors and investment in R&D for advanced recycling technologies designed to target mixed and complex streams of plastic waste.
  

By 2024, the Asia Pacific plastic chemical recycling market had achieved USD 49.7 million with projected growth to reach USD 458.5 million by 2034. 

• Rapid industrialization, increasing plastic consumption, and government initiatives promoting circular economy models are key growth drivers. Chemical recycling technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, and depolymerization are gaining traction to handle the region’s mixed and contaminated plastic waste.
  
• Growth is further supported by the adoption of recycled plastics in packaging, automotive, and construction industries and increasing focus on reducing environmental pollution.
  

Latin America plastic chemical recycling market is expected to reach a market value of USD 12.4 million by 2025. 

• The region is experiencing increasing utilization of chemical recycling technologies to manage the large quantities of post-consumer and industrial plastic. Stakeholders in the packaging and automotive sectors are the highest consumers for recyclates while high-quality recyclate is increasingly sought after.
  
• The market is driving, among others, by government financing of regulations and sustainability programs and financial investment in pyrolysis and advanced recycling facilities. Regional demand is increasing due to higher environmental awareness and the required diversion away from landfills. 
  

MEA is expanding and is expected to obtain 2.5% of the market share by 2025.

• The market will increase because of higher consumption level of plastics, government initiatives promoting recycling programs, and investments in chemical recycling plants to handle mixed and problem plastics. The packaging, construction, and petrochemicals industries are the largest users in the region.
  
• The market is also supported by environmentally conscious awareness, circular economy programs, and adoption of advanced and hybrid recycling technologies in product conversion of post-consumer plastics to high value feedstocks and fuels.
  

Plastic Chemical Recycling Market Share

The top 5 companies in the plastic chemical recycling are ExxonMobil Corporation, Plastic Energy Limited, Quantafuel ASA, PureCycle Technologies, Inc., and BASF SE. These are significant players in their respective areas and represent 42% of the total market share.

• ExxonMobil utilizes its innovative recycling technique known as the "Exxtend" process to turn difficult-to-recycle plastics into petrochemical sources. The company's Baytown, Texas facility is in operation and ExxonMobil has plans to reach roughly 1 million pounds per year in global recycling capacity by 2027.
  
• Plastic Energy is applying and scaling patented Thermal Anaerobic Conversion (TAC) to convert mixed/end-of-life plastic streams into hydrocarbon feedstock ("TACOIL") for production of new plastics. The company has operational commercial plants in Spain and is expanding globally to facilitate a circular economy for plastics.
  
• Quantafuel is using advanced chemical recycling to cover mixed, contaminated plastic waste to liquids and chemicals, and aims to reduce and reuse energy throughout the value chains as much as possible. It has developed modular plants and seeks global deployment to convert plastic waste into high value products through circular systems.
  
• PureCycle has developed solvent-based purification technology for recycling polypropylene (PP) waste into ultra-pure resin possessing properties nearly identical to virgin plastic. The technology is licensed from a major consumer goods company, and its Ironton-Ohio facility is operational and scaling for potential global capacity.
  
• BASF is integrating chemically recycled pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste into its Verbund production network utilizing a mass-balance approach that allows the company to produce virgin-quality polymers from mixed/contaminated plastic streams.
  

Plastic Chemical Recycling Market Companies

Major players operating in the plastic chemical recycling industry include:

• Agilyx Corporation
• BASF SE
• BlueAlp Holding BV
• Brightmark LLC
• Dow Inc.
• Evonik Industries AG
• Exxon Mobil Corporation
• INEOS Group
• Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation
• Mura Technology Limited
• Nexus Circular LLC
• Plastic Energy Limited
• PureCycle Technologies, Inc.
• Quantafuel ASA
• Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)
• Shell plc
• Versalis S.p.A. (Eni)
  

Plastic Chemical Recycling Industry News

• On September 17, 2025, MOL Group successfully carried out its first ISCC Plus-certified production run of chemically recycled post-consumer plastic waste at its Tiszaújváros site in Hungary  The pilot produced polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) from circular feedstock and supports broaden MOL's Shape Tomorrow strategy to secure up to 1.5 million metric tons of plastic waste feedstock by 2030.
  
• On August 27, 2025, Plastic Energy and SABIC produced the first batch of TACOIL. TACOIL is pyrolysis oil generated from hard-to-recycle post-consumer plastics and to be used as a feedstock for virgin quality recycled polymers to enhance circularity in food-contact packaging, medical-grade plastic and other high-value applications, with full commercial production expected later in 2025.
  

This plastic chemical recycling market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry, with estimates & forecasts in terms of revenue (USD Million) and volume (Tons) from 2025 to 2034, for the following segments:

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Market, By Feedstock Type

• Polyolefins
  • Polyethylene (PE)
  • Polypropylene (PP)
• Polyesters (PET)
• Polystyrene (PS)
• Mixed plastic waste
• Others

Market, By Technology Type

• Pyrolysis
• Gasification
• Depolymerization
• Solvolysis
• Purification/dissolution

Market, By Application

• Petrochemical feedstock
• Polymer production
• Chemical manufacturing
• Fuel production
• Specialty applications

Market, By End Use

• Packaging
• Petrochemicals & chemicals
• Automotive
• Construction & building
• Textiles & fashion
• Electronics

The above information is provided for the following regions and countries:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canad 
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Argentina
  • Rest of Latin America 
• Middle East and Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • UAE
  • Rest of Middle East and Africa