The Trump Administration is considering severely weakening air pollution regulations for facilities that chemically process plastic waste.

Buried in a proposal mainly focused on incinerators that burn natural disaster debris, the Trump Administration proposed changing the category for facilities that use heat and chemicals to reduce plastic to raw materials used for fuel or to make new plastics. The change would would categorize plants that chemically break down plastic waste as “manufacturing” rather than “incinerators.”

That means these sites would have “no pollution controls, no air monitoring, and no reporting requirements,” Cynthia Palmer, petrochemicals senior analyst at Moms Clean Air Force, an advocacy group, told Chemical & Engineering News.

Dozens of these plants have been proposed across the U.S. (38 as of June 2025), with many facing community opposition. Unlike conventional recycling that mechanically breaks down waste plastics, these facilities use high heat, pressure, and chemicals to extract raw materials from plastics.

The Trump Administration suggested language that would take “pyrolysis/combustion units” out of the definition of incinerators, which are required under the federal Clean Air Act to have permits meant to reduce air pollution. The American Chemical Council, an industry group, applauded the administration's proposal.