{"id":477450,"date":"2025-10-07T05:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=477450"},"modified":"2025-10-07T15:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T22:25:29","slug":"resynergi-plastic-waste-recycling-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_es\/environment\/2025\/10\/resynergi-plastic-waste-recycling-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"A Bay Area startup sold a plastic recycling dream. Neighbors call it just another incinerator"},"content":{"rendered":"
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En resumen<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

The Sonoma County company Resynergi says it will depart the state, just as Gov. Newsom sends CalRecycle back to the drawing board on potentially nation-leading rules governing plastic waste and plastic products. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

The plan sounded like a magic bullet from the future to solve one of the world\u2019s most vexing environmental waste problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rohnert Park, just north of San Francisco, a startup company called Resynergi planned to use a form of \u201cadvanced recycling\u201d to reuse plastic. Its process would chemically transform old plastic, blasting bits of it with microwaves until they turned into an oil that could then be used to make new plastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the process \u2013 known as pyrolysis \u2013 was a hard sell to Sonoma County neighbors, who protested so much that the company withdrew its application and now plans to move out of state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fight that boiled over in Rohnert Park in recent months is a window into the tensions ahead for California as the state overhauls nation-leading regulations governing plastic pollution and packaging. (CalRecycle, formally known as the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery , will hold a public hearing about those rules Oct. 7.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While California is establishing some of the most forward-thinking plastic responsibility and recycling rules in the country, a dirty secret is that most plastic recycling methods are ineffective at best and illusory at worst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of tons of plastic go to the state\u2019s landfills each year, and millions more are shipped to Southeast Asia, where plastic is rarely recycled. Instead it is illegally dumped, and often burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Attorney General Rob Bonta brought suit against ExxonMobil for \u201cperpetuating the myth \u2026 that you can recycle plastics, including single use plastics, and that it’s sustainable and good for the environment \u2026 It’s not true. It’s a lie.\u201d ExxonMobil has since countersued Bonta for defamation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s regulators, meanwhile, are working to implement a 2022 state law that moves the state toward a circular economy for plastic \u2013 by making companies that produce packaging and single-use plastic items responsible for what happens to them after people throw them away. Those companies, along with environmental groups, have been weighing in as CalRecycle has been writing regulations, now years in the making.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent comments by Gov. Gavin Newsom suggest the state is aiming to strike a balance, finding a way to encourage recycling companies while hitting the state\u2019s goals \u2013 all while avoiding more air pollution or other environmental impacts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for Resynergi, local and environmental advocates say that the way local, county, and regional regulators handled the company points up the challenges the state will face as it regulates plastic and defines whether and how it can be recycled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does make me nervous, since it took seven years to get any enforcement on a facility that’s a two hour drive from the Capitol,\u201d said Nick Lapis, advocacy director for Californians Against Waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A credible solution to plastic waste? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Resynergi\u2019s departure came as Sonoma County officials began to ask more serious questions about its operations, almost a decade after the company first arrived. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, company founder Brian Bauer chose Rohnert Park, a small, middle-class community surrounded by farmland, to develop and test his process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He set up shop in a development called SOMO Village \u2013 a 200-acre neighborhood with homes, a high school, and commercial space. Developers market it as a climate-conscious place, built to be carbon-neutral, which Bauer said was a draw for Resynergi.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early conversations, according to Bauer, Sonoma County officials \u201csuggested\u201d his business could follow simpler recycling guidelines. Sheri Cardo, a spokesperson for Sonoma County\u2019s Department of Health Services, confirmed the department had talked with Bauer about its operations as a recycling research and development site, and that his characterization was accurate.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, when Bauer sought to expand operations, he approached the city of Rohnert Park\u2019s planning division for permits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials told Bauer his facility was considered a heavy manufacturing site, and that Resynergi\u2019s location \u2013 600 feet from a school \u2013 demanded an environmental review, according to documents obtained by residents through a public records request. In a response late last year,  Resynergi argued that such a review could take too long, and moving quickly \u201ccould make or break substantial investment from a large strategic investor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within a month, planning officials had flipped and were now siding with Resynergi, granting it a more flexible, less burdensome administrative use permit. The decision avoided additional public review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to operate legally, Resynergi had to secure approval from county officials and the regional air district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In California, pyrolysis is classified as a type of incineration, associated with toxic and hazardous waste. Businesses must obtain a solid waste permit from local authorities, who enforce the state\u2019s public resources code. In the past, three facilities have received permits to use pyrolysis, two for the purpose of destroying medical waste. All are now closed, according to CalRecycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California counties issue waste permits on behalf of CalRecycle. The Bay Area Air District, formerly known as the Bay Area Regional Air Quality Management District, permits and controls pollution that microwaving plastic could produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Resynergi\u2019s microwave incinerator at 1200 Valley House Drive, in Rohnert Park, on Aug. 26, 2025. Photo by Chad Surmick for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

County officials started looking into the company when they realized Resynergi\u2019s plans would make the company a fully operational and \u201cfixed component in the county\u2019s waste system,\u201d said Cardo, the county spokesperson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough your facility might be considered a recycling facility in vernacular language, it is not under state law,\u201d escribi\u00f3<\/a> Christine Sosko, Sonoma County\u2019s director of environmental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CalRecycle spokesman Lance Klug said in an email that Sonoma County\u2019s response followed state standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But environmental advocates say the way city and county officials handled Resynergi reflects regulators\u2019 confusion about the processes for advanced recycling  \u2013 confusion fueled by the plastic industry.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Williams, director of California Communities Against Toxics, argues that federal and state law make it clear that pyrolysis facilities have to follow rules as incinerators. \u201cIt\u2019s really interesting for me to see, having worked on these incinerators for so long, how these guys pulled strings,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThey pulled whatever out of their pockets so they could convince people this is a recycling facility.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Chemistry Council, a trade group supporting the plastic industry, disagrees. And Resynergi\u2019s Bauer said he doesn\u2019t think his company\u2019s process counts as incineration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities across California and the country are searching for credible solutions to plastic waste,\u201d Bauer wrote in an open letter to the community. \u201cThis city has the chance to lead by example.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community fears toxic air pollution <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People living in and near SOMO Village found out that Resynergi planned to burn plastic on a larger scale when the Bay Area Air District notified the public of the company\u2019s permit application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community protested, filling city council rooms at each meeting and waving signs depicting polluting smoke stacks. Some parents spoke through tears to their city leaders. \u201cOur air is not your experiment,\u201d one poster read. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the local opponents of Resynergi was Stephanie Lennox. She lives about 20 minutes from Rohnert Park in rural Forestville, but her two daughters go to Credo High School right next to the facility. She wondered about emissions and the risk of an explosion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy Lord, don’t we need a solution to our global plastic pollution,\u201d Lennox said. \u201cBut my daughters\u2019 lungs are not part of your beta testing phase for your \u2018world’s global plastic solution.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kirsten Van Nuys is hugged after addressing the city council at Rohnert Park City Hall to protest the recent operation of Resynergi\u2019s microwave incinerator at 1200 Valley House Drive, on Aug. 26, 2025. Photo by Chad Surmick for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Primero:<\/strong> Resynergi\u2019s microwave incinerator at 1200 Valley House Drive, in Rohnert Park. \u00daltimo: <\/strong>Annabelle Royes, 9, stands in front of Rohnert Park City Hall to protest the operation of Resynergi\u2019s microwave incinerator on Aug. 26, 2025. Photos by Chad Surmick for CalMatters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Local organizers said they wanted city and county leaders to follow state law and the federal Clean Air Act.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When plastic is burned, additives like flame retardants or other chemicals that don\u2019t break down can create toxic emissions, said Veena Singla, a researcher at the University of California San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resynergi applied to the regional air district to obtain a permit for pollution control equipment in April, after the company had already begun operating their technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August, the air district issued three notices of violation to Resynergi for constructing and operating without a permit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bauer admitted to operating the equipment without a permit. The company never burned plastic in Rohnert Park he said; it did burn plastic at “prototype levels\u201d in Santa Rosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, Bauer added, Resynergi was trying to follow the rules as he understood them. As a startup, he said, \u201cyou don’t even know if you will get a prototype to work. You’re also trying to figure out how the permitting process works.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions spent to sway regulations <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Resynergi\u2019s departure wasn\u2019t because of a community outcry, Bauer said. The turning point, he said, was \u201cthe pull from other states; how they treated climate technologies such as ours \u2026combined with the overall culture of accepting what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastics manufacturers and industry advocates like the American Chemistry Council have campaigned to redefine terms and loosen environmental regulations for the process Resynergi is developing. After the lobbying, 27 states have reclassified pyrolysis as manufacturing instead of solid waste operations, said Davis Allen, a researcher for the Center for Climate Integrity. That classification helps operators get around federal air requirements, he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resynergi\u2019s Bauer told CalMatters that \u201cone of those (states) is a candidate,\u201d and that the company will move out by the end of the year.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An analysis by the climate accountability newsletter HEATED <\/a>found the chemistry council and groups aligned with it have spent as much as $30 million to promote the concept of advanced recycling as a mainstream and established one. That language aims to sway not just state laws, but federal clean air policy as well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2021 and 2022, when lawmakers were discussing plastic producer legislation, the American Chemistry Council spent more than $1.6 million on lobbying state legislators, according to publicly available data<\/a> published by the Secretary of State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Chemistry Council\u2019s Ross Eisenberg says that pyrolysis and other chemical recycling processes do work. These processes turn \u201chard-to-recycle plastics into the raw materials for high-quality products while reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and fossil energy use during production compared with virgin production,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerica\u2019s plastic makers are investing billions of dollars to modernize and expand recycling capacity and improve efficiency,\u201d Eisenberg said, adding that the companies are \u201cadvocating for smart policies that enhance collection and sorting so more plastics can be remade into new products.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the Environmental Protection Agency said it isn\u2019t taking further action<\/a> on the matter, but industry representatives said they\u2019ll continue to lobby at the federal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ambitious rules and tough realities for plastic<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s goals to reduce plastic pollution and make producers responsible for plastic waste are ambitious in size, scope, and speed. Within seven years, state law seeks to reduce plastic packaging by 25%, make single-use plastic packaging 100% recyclable or compostable, and divert most of that packaging into recycling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen, from the Center for Climate Integrity, says laws like this can be a good idea \u2013 as long as regulators focus more on reducing plastics and less on recycling them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlmost any solution that is based on the idea that plastics can widely be recycled just isn’t really going to work,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThere just aren\u2019t easily available solutions to a lot of the problems that limit the effectiveness of recycling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Single-use plastic bottles on a conveyor belt at greenwaste recycling facility in San Jose on July 29, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But in March, regulations aimed at achieving the state\u2019s goals were dealt a setback after two years of hearings. The day they were due, Gov. Newsom directed CalRecycle to start the regulatory process over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The governor asked for changes \u201cto minimize costs for small businesses and families \u2013 while ensuring California\u2019s bold recycling law can achieve the critical goal of cutting plastic pollution,\u201d said Daniel Villase\u00f1or, a spokesperson for the governor, in an email to CalMatters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Plastics Industry Association and the American Chemistry Council hailed the governor\u2019s announcement as an opportunity. \u201cWe believe California\u2019s regulations should be clear, technology-neutral, and performance-based,\u201d said the council\u2019s Ross Eisenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Klug, the CalRecycle spokesman, the state \u201cremains committed to fostering business innovation that promotes a safe and clean future for all Californians.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But environmental organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Surfrider called the decision disappointing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Williams, the California Communities Against Toxics activist, said she\u2019s concerned that more recent draft language may encourage pyrolysis facilities like Resynergi, which, she says, don\u2019t belong in the state.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If California \u201crolls out the red carpet,\u201d she said, \u201cThe only thing that will stop a whole new fleet of incinerators being built in California now is open, persistent community opposition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resynergi also took part in CalRecycle workshops for the regulations. The company\u2019s departure announcement praised the \u201cinnovative spirit of California \u2026 instrumental in the company\u2019s growth.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Bauer said he\u2019s hopeful the state plastic regulations will ease regulations for companies like his, but he plans to return to California either way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo it might be a couple years,\u201d Bauer said. \u201cWe’ll be back to California in due time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tREAD NEXT<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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El acuerdo elimina la medida de basura pl\u00e1stica de California de la boleta electoral<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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El reciclaje avanzado est\u00e1 en auge excepto en California. La culpa la tiene una nueva ley sobre pl\u00e1sticos<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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