Supporters call this “chemical recycling.” Environmentalists call it “bad.”

Sponsoring State Rep Larry Walsh Jr. (D-Elwood) says this bill actually passed a few years ago, and now he wants to extend the time period for a couple of facilities in his district to get up and running.

“What the process does is to recycle one-time-use plastic,” said Walsh. “Keeps it out of the landfill and takes it back to its molecular structure, and they can reconstitute it into diesel fuel and / or another plastic form.”

Since then, environmentalists have decided they don’t like it. “The last thing we need is to increase the burden on rural and low-income communities across our region,” said Andrea Densham of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. She urged the use of compostable or truly recyclable packaging.