The governing board of Templeton, Massachusetts, a town of about 8,000 less than an hour north of Worcester, has blocked the construction of a chemical recycling facility for waste plastics for one year.

The town was targeted for a plant proposed by Clean-Seas to convert used industrial plastic into new plastics and fuels. Such plants, labeled “advanced recycling” by the plastics industry, are associated with hazardous air and water pollution and were described in an October 2023 Beyond Plastics report as “smoke and mirrors” to perpetuate the plastics production industry.

At the urging of a local group, Templeton Community Against Toxic Waste, the town’s select board on Dec. 5 passed a one-year moratorium on waste plastics incineration, giving local, state, and federal officials more time to study the technology.