Chemical Recycling as a Tool for Enabling a Second Life for Polyesters

The continuously escalating production of plastics has not been followed by its circularity measures, leading to a persistent leakage of plastic streams with a typical timespan of hundreds of years. This review addresses the circularity of polyesters—an important class of polymers—from a chemical recycling perspective, with a specific emphasis on solvolysis technologies such as hydrolysis, glycolysis, and alcoholysis. The review examines the most commercially relevant polyesters (e.g., PET, PLA, PHA, PBS, and PBAT) by analyzing their emerging recycling technologies, discussing life‐cycle assessments, techno‐economic evaluations, and the current industrial key players and technologies, including the roles of major solvolysis companies. Furthermore, a statistical modeling of critical process variables, based on extensive datasets from PET glycolysis and PLA methanolysis (> 400 entries), reveals opportunities for technical improvements and highlights existing knowledge gaps, such as the persistent dependence on more efficient catalysts, as well as the influence of reaction kinetics, postconsumer waste (PCW) composition, and intentionally added substances (IAS) on process performance. Finally, it proposes a potential circular ecosystem for plastics, along with an evaluation of current policies aimed at promoting circular production, which are strongly influenced by the political dynamics favoring virgin plastic production. The investigation reveals promising avenues for future improvements in plastic circularity.