Chemical companies aren't just investing in advanced recycling, they're talking about it — a lot. Industry spending on ads mentioning "advanced recycling," a set of technologies that use high temperatures to break down plastic into its basic components, soared in 2022, according to data from Meta, the social media and advertising giant. The American Chemistry Council, which represents Dow, Chevron, ExxonMobil and other chemical and oil companies, spent $265,649 through Dec. 12 on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger ads focused on advanced or chemical recycling, according to Meta data. That's more than double the $97,000 that it spent on the issue in 2021, and six times what it spent in 2020. Advanced recycling has been an increasingly contentious issue in state capitals and in Congress. ACC member companies are making plans to open plants across the country, but some Democrats and environmentalists argue that the technology will prolong dependence on plastic and that its emissions should be more strictly regulated. The ACC's ad buys on advanced recycling fluctuated during the year, rising in late May and building to nearly $10,000 per week in mid-June, around the time that lawmakers in California and Colorado were considering sweeping plastics-recycling bills. Some of the ACC’s ads targeted specific bills, like promoting advanced recycling in New York and Rhode Island — two states with bills that would have labeled chemical recycling as manufacturing, both of which ultimately failed to advance. Some of those ads link to a form allowing users to contact elected officials to advocate for chemical recycling. ACC's spending on plastics ads in general also rose last month. Its "America’s Plastic Makers" Facebook page spent nearly $1.7 million on Meta ads in the last 90 days as of Jan. 3, the fourth-highest out of all advertisers.
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