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Scientists convert plastic waste into effective CO₂ capture materials. Turning trash into treasure: Chemists at the University of Copenhagen have created a technique to transform plastic waste into a sustainable climate solution for efficient CO₂ capture. This approach tackles two of the world’s most pressing issues: plastic pollution and the climate crisis.

From Plastic Waste to Climate Solution: A Breakthrough in CO₂ Capture

As global CO₂ emissions continue to climb and plastic waste overwhelms the oceans, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have developed a technology that could address both crises simultaneously. Their breakthrough turns discarded PET plastic into a powerful tool for capturing carbon from the atmosphere and industrial exhaust.

The innovation centers on a new material called BAETA, created by “upcycling” PET plastic that is too degraded or contaminated for traditional recycling. Using a gentle chemical process, the team transforms this waste into a powdery substance with a highly active surface, enabling it to bind CO₂ more effectively than many existing carbon-capture materials.

Once BAETA absorbs CO₂, the gas can be released through heating, allowing the material to be reused multiple times. The captured carbon can then be stored underground or repurposed in sustainable energy technologies.

“Our approach takes plastic that would otherwise pollute ecosystems and gives it a second life as part of the climate solution,” explains lead researcher Margarita Poderyte. “The synthesis is scalable, flexible, and far less energy-intensive compared to other CO₂ sorbents.”

The material is particularly well-suited for industrial applications, such as power plants or factories, where hot exhaust gases can be passed through BAETA units to strip away CO₂ before it reaches the atmosphere. According to co-author Jiwoong Lee, BAETA’s stability across a wide temperature range makes it especially practical for real-world use.

The research, published in Science Advances and supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO₂ Research Center, highlights the potential of aligning climate action with waste reduction. By targeting plastic that is otherwise unrecyclable—including degraded plastics floating in the ocean—the technology avoids competing with recycling systems and instead complements them.

Poderyte and her colleagues see this as a game-changer for both environmental protection and climate mitigation:

“We’re not looking at isolated problems anymore. Ocean plastics and CO₂ emissions are connected, and our material shows how solutions can be interconnected as well. This innovation could create real economic incentives to clean up plastic pollution while fighting climate change.”

The next challenge lies in scaling production from laboratory quantities to industrial volumes. The researchers are seeking investment partners to bring BAETA into large-scale carbon capture plants, where its dual role, reducing plastic waste and cutting emissions—could have a global impact.

With billions of tons of plastic circulating in ecosystems and global emissions still on the rise, BAETA represents a rare win-win solution: turning one of the planet’s biggest environmental problems into a vital resource for a sustainable future.

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