The U.S. EPA’s proposal to remove pyrolysis from a key air emissions rule — and the recent rush of public comments on the proposal — highlights how involved the agency has become in the chemical recycling industry amid longtime tensions over regulating the sector. The EPA is considering clarifying that certain pyrolysis technologies used for chemical recycling purposes “are not forms of incineration” under the Clean Air Act. The proposed update would remove the reference to “pyrolysis/combustion units” in the EPA’s definition of a municipal waste combustion unit under its Other Solid Waste Incinerators category to clarify that the OSWI rule doesn’t regulate such units. A public comment period on the proposal, which closed on May 4, drew hundreds of responses reflecting polarizing opinions on the chemical recycling industry in the U.S. The agency says these comments will help EPA develop future chemical recycling regulations, but has not yet announced next steps on the proposal. Supporters of chemical recycling, including some in the plastic industry, have long pushed to have certain pyrolysis processes to be categorized as manufacturing rather than incineration or waste management. This distinction, they say, will help expand chemical recycling infrastructure and align with the Trump administration's focus on domestic manufacturing. In public comments, these groups said the current regulatory framework is too vague, and that uncertainty is blocking innovation and investment. But environmental groups are continuing their fight against the reclassification, saying removing pyrolysis from the OSWI rule would allow the industry to bypass important, and more stringent, air regulations. These groups have also said the chemical recycling industry’s scale and potential benefits are overexaggerated. Some stakeholders have said the 45-day public comment period was rushed in an effort to speed through regulatory changes favorable to the plastics industry. The Ocean Conservancy called the process “misleading,”