Chemical Recycling Facility Visited by New York Legislators Appears Shut Down After Environmental Violations
Beyond Plastics has learned that Braven Environmental’s plastics pyrolysis — aka “chemical recycling” — facility in Zebulon, North Carolina, has been shut down by environmental regulators. In 2023, the American Chemistry Council brought New York state Assemblymembers Alicia Hyndman, Chantel Jackson, Stefani Zinerman, and others to the facility to show the “success” of so-called “chemical recycling,” which the petrochemical industry holds up as a solution to the plastic pollution crisis.
Major Chemical Recycling Facility Appears Shut Down After Environmental Violations in North Carolina, Underscoring Chemical Recycling’s Persistent Failures
Beyond Plastics has learned that Braven Environmental’s plastics pyrolysis facility in Zebulon, North Carolina, has been shut down. A Beyond Plastics staff member traveled to the facility on June 25, 2026, and observed that the site was non‑operational and that equipment and materials were being removed from the building. During that visit, an individual on-site stated that he had been hired to empty the building and that the facility had been ordered to close by environmental regulators.