Mixed testimony as committee hears bill to prohibit plastic conversion technologies; proponents cite climate and public-health concerns, industry warns against 

Representative Mark Gamba on March 20 introduced House Bill 29,60 proposing a statewide ban on certain plastic conversion technologies (commonly described as pyrolysis and gasification for conversion to fuels) and presented a dash-1 amendment that modifies definitions in the bill.

Proponents—testifying for environmental and ocean-conservation groups—argued that conversion technologies combust plastic, yield little usable recycled material and produce substantially higher greenhouse-gas emissions than mechanical recycling. Dr. Anya Bridal, director of plastics policy at Ocean Conservancy, told the committee conversion technologies typically are regulated as incinerators and often yield low usable product when compared to mechanical recycling: "conversion technology yields 0.1 to 13% usable material," she said. Tara Brock of Oceana and other witnesses said the…