FUTURE OF ADVANCED RECYCLING

PDO Technologies Attends The Future of Advanced Recycling North America in Pittsburgh

PDO Technologies was pleased to attend The Future of Advanced Recycling North America 2026, held June 17–18 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The event brought together operators, project developers, polymer producers, investors, brand owners, policymakers, and technology providers focused on one of the most important questions facing the industry: how to move advanced recycling from promise to practical, commercial execution.

For PDO, the conference was especially relevant. Much of the discussion centered on the same issues we work on every day: reliable feedstock sourcing, pre-processing, technology performance, commercial offtake, regulatory clarity, financing, and the need for credible projects that can operate at scale. The event theme — moving from pathways to proof — reflects where the industry is today. Advanced recycling is no longer just about demonstrating that technology can work; it is about building systems that can be financed, permitted, supplied, operated, and integrated into real circular supply chains.

As a company focused on agricultural plastic waste, PDO sees a clear need for practical solutions that combine mechanical recovery with advanced recycling. Agricultural plastics are often bulky, dispersed, mixed, and contaminated, making them difficult for traditional recycling systems to manage. The conference reinforced the importance of preparation, sorting, densification, product quality, and end-market alignment before material ever reaches the conversion system.

One of the key takeaways from Pittsburgh was that feedstock matters. Technology is important, but the ability to secure, prepare, and consistently deliver the right material is what separates promising concepts from scalable operations. This aligns directly with PDO’s Ag Plastic Circularity Center model, which is designed to recover agricultural plastic waste regionally, upgrade it through mechanical processing, and convert the remaining difficult material into circular feedstocks through advanced recycling.

The conference also highlighted the continued importance of transparency, certification, and commercial credibility. Discussions around mass balance, offtake expectations, recycled-content claims, and regulatory definitions made clear that the industry must continue to build trust with customers, policymakers, and communities. PDO believes that credible advanced recycling requires more than a conversion system — it requires disciplined operations, clear material pathways, responsible environmental controls, and strong downstream market relationships.

We left Pittsburgh encouraged by the quality of the conversations and the seriousness of the participants. The event was well organized, highly relevant, and focused on the real issues that will determine how advanced recycling develops in North America. It was valuable to spend time with others working across the circular plastics value chain and to see the industry continuing to move toward practical deployment.

PDO Technologies appreciates the opportunity to participate in these conversations and looks forward to continuing our work to help build a more circular pathway for difficult plastic waste streams, including agricultural plastics that have historically had limited recovery options.