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Across the petrochemical industry, companies are recognizing that building a circular economy for plastics isn’t a solo endeavor — it’s a collective mission. Through strategic partnerships, manufacturers are taking a comprehensive approach to increasing recycling and tackling hard-to-recycle materials across sectors.

Are you glued to the TV for the 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy? We absolutely are, and as we root for Team USA to win it all, we can’t help but notice how petrochemicals are essential to the Games.

Since TSCA directly affects a company’s ability to make, import, sell and use chemicals, it has implications for entire American supply chains and interstate commerce.

Pay close attention as we continue diving into Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) costs, because $770 per gallon is what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering having you pay next year for every extra gallon of corn ethanol that might get blended BECAUSE of the RFS.

The 2026-2027 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency can only be met if the United States significantly INCREASES imports of foreign biofuels and feedstocks. In short, the RFS proposal is at odds with the President’s ‘energy dominance’ agenda.

That’s looking like a hard no. The Environmental Protection Agency is attempting to finalize the largest and most expensive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandate in history. This would significantly increase costs for American refiners and consumers.

No single solution can solve the global challenge of plastic waste. First, we must recognize that there is immense value in plastics and the ability to reuse or recycle these products. From there, we need to get a recycling system that works.

We recently celebrated the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing — a monumental achievement for both American ingenuity and human curiosity.

Given low domestic recycling rates for plastic, the efficacy of recycling is often called into question. But that doesn’t mean recycling doesn’t work. Advanced recycling technologies — as well as traditional mechanical recycling — play a pivotal role in addressing plastic waste and recovering the value in used plastics.