The advanced recycling myth is being propagated on social media platforms through targeted advertising (Facebook), social media posts from front groups and industry proxies (America's Plastic Makers, Chemistry Matters, Alliance to Reduce Plastic Waste, etc) and the widespread use of the hashtags #advancedrecycling and #circulareconomy.

Actions that you can take on social media platforms:

• Debunking these activities when they appear using truth sandwiches
• Using alternative hashtags #advancedrecyclingmyth and #circulareconomymyth
• Prebunking the myth of advanced recycling with posts that explain, or point to explanations of real solutions to plastic waste: producer responsibility, reduced plastic production.

The facts of "advanced recycling"

• History shows that the primary “advanced recycling” process called “pyrolysis” actually incinerates plastic waste to fuel itself and recycles only a small portion of the plastic waste.  In effect, much of the plastic waste is burned.
• Since 1994 when the U.S. Department of Energy published research on chemical recycling, it’s been known that no type of chemical recycling can successfully process mixed plastic waste from households (a claim made by the industry).  
• The most common pyrolysis process requires a consistent amount of good quality feedstock (without any PET#1 or PVC#3) to function effectively.  But household plastic waste contains significant amounts of PET#1 bottles, clamshells, cups, and some PVC#3 packaging that looks just like PP#5 and HDPE#2 plastic.  According to chemical industry experts ICIS: “Although chemical recycling can take waste fractions that are not possible to mechanically recycle, there are still a number of technical requirements for waste input. Pyrolysis for example, typically requires the minimisation of chlorine content (typically to 0.1% or less) due to its corrosive effect, the removal of PET because it oxygenates the process and does not depolymerise using pyrolysis, and the avoidance of nylon and flame retardants.”