What do you know about mass balance?

Mass balance helps ensure chemically recycled plastic waste is accurately attributed.
The method is central to a wider roll-out of chemical recycling.
Our comprehensive mass balance approach includes working with independent certification system ISCC PLUS.

News Sept. 23, 2024

Does the term “mass balance” mean anything to you? It might not be a concept you’ve come across before. And if you have, it may not be one that you immediately associate with plastic waste or chemical recycling. But it is essential to chemical recycling and the ability to roll out the technology at scale in Europe.

We’re ready to expand our global chemical recycling capacity – helping to address the plastic waste challenge and contribute to a more circular economy for plastics. That includes exploring the option of introducing the technology at our Rotterdam and Antwerp facilities.

To help spur investment in chemical recycling across the European Union, there is an urgent need for policies that outline a clear mass balance system for calculating what qualifies as recycled content.

Learn more about mass balance below. You can also learn more about why about why we need chemical recycling, and how we are supporting chemical recycling.

Why is mass balance needed for chemical recycling?

Chemical recycling could help Europe meet its recycling targets and address plastic waste. And mass balance – which attributes the amount of usable raw materials made from the plastic waste we process to the virgin-quality, certified-circular plastics we sell – is key to chemical recycling.

But there’s an urgent need for policies that outline a clear mass balance system for calculating what qualifies as recycled content. This would help spur investment in chemical recycling across the European Union.

1. Molecules matter

Chemical recycling breaks down plastic waste to the molecular level. During the process, the plastic waste is mixed with fossil-based feedstock, and you can’t identify which molecules come from plastic and which come from fossil feedstock.

2. Mass balance attribution

This is where mass balance – a transparent and widely used third-party approach – comes in. It attributes the mass of usable raw materials made from the plastic waste we process through chemical recycling to the mass of certified-circular plastics we sell.

3. Similar systems

Comparable concepts exist in other sectors. For example, if you buy a specific amount of renewable electricity, the equivalent is added to the energy grid. But what you receive might be a blend of renewable and non-renewable energy.

4. Third-party verification

Our chemical recycling process and facilities are certified via International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS, an independent, third-party certification system. The ISCC has more than 250 members, including research institutes and NGOs.

5. Measurable impact

For every ton of plastic waste processed through chemical recycling, society reduces the need to process approximately one ton of fossil-derived feedstocks.* And for every ton of certified-circular plastics sold, more than a ton of plastic waste avoids ending up in other end-of-life dispositions, such as landfill or incineration.

6. Customer confidence

Our customers can be confident that when they buy our certified-circular plastics, they’re helping divert plastic waste from alternative end of life such as landfills or incineration and giving it a new life.