Chemists at Northwestern University, US, have developed a cost-effective method to break down plastic waste by harnessing moisture from the air. They describe this solvent-free approach as offering a sustainable alternative to current plastic packaging recycling methods.The research, published in Green Chemistry, employed a molybdenum catalyst and activated carbon — both abundant, inexpensive, and non-toxic materials to break apart the bonds in PET, commonly found in F&B packaging.
