AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PLASTIC WASTE CONVERSION FACILITY ACT (Establishes the Plastic Waste Conversion Facility Act.)

H7620

2026 -- H 7620
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LC004875
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PLASTIC WASTE CONVERSION FACILITY
ACT

Introduced By:
Representatives McGaw, Boylan, Speakman, Donovan, Caldwell,
Carson, Potter, Dawson, Batista, and McEntee

Date Introduced:
February 11, 2026

Referred To:
House Environment and Natural Resources
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Findings.
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(1) As stated in §§ 23-19-3(14) and (16), solid waste incineration releases more than four
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hundred (400) toxic pollutants including lead, mercury, dioxins, and acid gasses; poses
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unacceptable threats to the health and safety of Rhode Islanders and the environment; and is the
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most costly method of waste disposal;
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(2) Facilities that use regulated technologies as defined by this chapter 19.20 of title 23,
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including thermochemical, chemical, electrical, or catalytic processes including, but not limited to,
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incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, hydropyrolysis, solvolysis, and depolymerization, release
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toxic air pollutants, generate hazardous solid and liquid waste, contaminated wastewater, and
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chemical byproducts containing carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and persistent organic
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pollutants, and often function in practice as forms of waste disposal rather than material recovery;
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(3) Energy derived from the combustion of solid waste, or from fuels, feedstocks, oils,
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gases, or chemicals derived from solid waste through regulated technologies, is not renewable
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energy and does not displace fossil fuel production or use;
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(4) Plastic waste conversion facilities marketed as “chemical,” “advanced,” or “molecular”
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recycling have a documented record of commercial failure, prolonged pilot-scale operation,
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shutdowns, fires, mechanical failures, and defaults, and have not demonstrated the ability to operate
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at scale without ongoing public subsidy;

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(5) Such facilities do not generally produce meaningful quantities of new plastic suitable
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for use in a circular materials economy, and instead primarily generate fuels, chemical
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intermediates, or waste streams;
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(6) Public subsidies, tax credits, financing assistance, and regulatory reclassification of
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plastic waste conversion facilities shift financial risk from private developers to taxpayers while
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primarily benefiting petrochemical, plastics, and fossil-fuel corporations;
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(7) Plastic waste conversion facilities are disproportionately sited in low-income
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communities and communities of color, exacerbating existing pollution burdens and posing
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environmental justice concerns due to increased exposure to toxic emissions, hazardous waste, and
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industrial accidents;
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(8) The lack of transparency, weakened oversight, and reliance on unverifiable accounting
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and tracking systems, including mass-balance crediting schemes, in the plastic waste conversion
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sector increase the risk of fraud, abuse, environmental harm, and threats to public safety; and
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(9) It is therefore in the best interests of the health, safety, environment, climate, and
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welfare of residents and visitors of Rhode Island to protect communities and natural resources by
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prohibiting the construction and operation of new plastic waste conversion facilities.
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SECTION 2. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby
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amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
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CHAPTER 19.20
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PLASTIC WASTE CONVERSION FACILITY ACT
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23-19.20-1. Definitions.

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As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings,
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unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
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(1) "Construction and demolition (C&D) debris" has the same meaning as set forth in § 23-
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18.9-7.
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(2) "Depolymerization" means a process through which heat, pressure, and/or solvents are
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used to break plastic polymers into oligomers and/or monomers.
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(3) "Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as set forth in § 23-19.1-4.
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(4) “Plastic” means a synthetic or semi-synthetic material made from linking monomers
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derived from fossil fuel or biological sources through a chemical reaction to create a polymer chain
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that can be molded, extruded, or otherwise shaped into pellets, objects, films, or filaments, whether
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alone or in combination with chemical additives including, but not limited to, plasticizers,
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stabilizers, colorants, or flame retardants.
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(5) "Plastic waste conversion facility" means a facility which:

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(i) Uses any disposal, treatment, recycling, or manufacturing process using regulated
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technologies as defined by this chapter, that subjects solid waste, segregated solid waste, recyclable
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materials, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, post-use polymers, or recovered feedstock to
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conditions sufficient to cause thermal cracking, depolymerization, chemical conversion, molecular
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rearrangement, or structural transformation of polymers, regardless of operating temperature; or
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(ii) Combusts chemicals, feedstocks, fuels, monomers, oligomers, hydrocarbons, or waste
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residues derived from any process that subjects solid waste, segregated solid waste, recyclable
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materials, construction and demolition (C&D) debris, post-use polymers, or recovered feedstock to
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thermochemical, chemical, electrical, or catalytic conversion conditions that result from the use of
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regulated technologies, regardless of operating temperature or energy source.
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(iii) "Plastic waste conversion facility" also includes advanced recycling facilities,
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chemical recycling facilities, molecular recycling facilities, and any other facility that uses a
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regulated technology as defined by this chapter, to convert post-use polymers, plastic, or recovered
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feedstock into fuels, chemical feedstocks, monomers, oligomers, hydrocarbons, waxes, lubricants,
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feedstocks, fuels, or hydrocarbons, regardless of how such facility or process is otherwise classified
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or marketed, or whether the process is characterized as low-temperature, non-thermal, or energy-
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efficient.
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(6) "Post-use polymer" means a plastic polymer previously used in any industrial,
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commercial, agricultural, or domestic activity.
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(7) "Recovered feedstock" means material derived and separated from solid waste,
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segregated solid waste, recyclable materials, or construction and demolition (C&D) debris for use
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as a feedstock or raw material in a plastic waste conversion facility using regulated technologies.
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(8) "Recyclable materials" has the same meaning as set forth in § 23-18.9-7.
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(9) “Regulated technologies” means:
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(i) The use of plastic as a fuel or fuel substitute or the general use of plastic in energy
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generation or the creation of hazardous chemicals by any means in such processes including, but
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not limited to, incineration, waste-to-energy, or waste-to-fuel; and
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(ii) The following processes:
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(A) Gasification;
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(B) Pyrolysis;
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(C) Solvolysis;
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(D) Hydropyrolysis;
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(E) Methanolysis;
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(F) Enzymatic breakdown;

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(G) Combustion;
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(H) Flash graphene conversion;
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(I) Radical anion attack or electron-driven depolymerization;
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(J) Thermal desorption;
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(K) Continuous microwave assisted pyrolysis;
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(L) Flash joule heating; and
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(M) Any other process used to transform plastic or plastic-derived materials including, but
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not limited to, plastic monomers, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, chemical feedstocks, crude oil,
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diesel, gasoline, or home heating oil; and
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(iii) Regulated technologies are regulated based on the function and outcome of the
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process, not on operating temperature, energy input, or claimed efficiency.
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(10) "Segregated solid waste" has the same meaning as set forth in § 23-18.9-7.
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(11) "Solid waste" has the same meaning as set forth in § 23-18.9-7.
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23-19.20-2. Prohibition on new plastic waste conversion facilities.

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(a) Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, no permit or license
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shall be issued for the construction or operation of a new plastic waste conversion facility, and no
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application for a permit or license for such a facility shall be granted or issued by the state.
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(b) For purposes of this section, no plastic waste conversion facility shall be deemed
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manufacturing, materials recovery, or recycling based on the nature or intended use of its outputs.
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SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- PLASTIC WASTE CONVERSION FACILITY
ACT
***
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This act would establish the Plastic Waste Conversion Facility Act. The act would prohibit
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the issuance of any permit or license for the construction or operation of a new plastic waste
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conversion facility, and would further provide that no application for a permit or license for such a
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facility would be granted or issued by the state.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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