In what could be a fix to the world’s plastic problem, researchers have developed a simple new method of harnessing moisture from air to breaking down the waste. The process begins with an inexpensive catalyst that breaks down the bonds in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most widely used plastic in the polyester family. Once broken, the material is simply exposed to ambient air to transfer PET into monomers—the essential building blocks of plastics.
