Scientists break down plastic waste using air

Scientists have developed a new method to break down plastic waste using moisture from the air.

- WORDS BEN TURNER

By exposing a common type of plastic to an inexpensive catalyst and leaving it exposed to ambient air, researchers broke down 94 per cent of the material in just four hours. The plastic transformed into terephthalic acid (TPA), a highly valuable building block for polyesters. Because TPA can be upcycled into more valuable materials, the process offers a safer and cheaper alternative to current plastic recycling methods.

“The US is the number-one plastic polluter per capita, and we only recycle five per cent of those plastics,” said Yosi Kratish, a research assistant professor of chemistry at Northwestern University.