How increased plastic recycling could cut CCS costs at UK energy-from-waste plants

A new report suggests that boosting plastic recycling in the UK could lower the cost of adding carbon capture and storage (CCS) to energy-from-waste (EfW) plants. The logic is straightforward: burning less plastic means less fossil-derived CO2 to capture, which reduces the size and energy demand of CCS equipment. The report calls for stronger demand for recycled polymers and support for advanced recycling technologies to make this work at scale. For anyone tracking carbon removal costs or EfW decarbonization, this is a concrete example of how upstream waste policy directly affects downstream CCS economics. If the UK can increase recycling rates meaningfully, it could shave millions off the capital and operating costs of CCS retrofits on existing EfW plants. The full article is behind a paywall, but the headline finding is worth a read for those in the waste-to-energy and carbon capture space.