For decades, humanity has been caught in a double bind. On one side, carbon dioxide emissions continue to climb despite international pledges and climate agreements. On the other, plastic pollution clogs oceans, poisons wildlife, and infiltrates the food chain in the form of microplastics. These problems seem overwhelming, unstoppable, and disconnected. But what if the solution to one could also help solve the other?
That is the astonishing promise of a new breakthrough from chemists at the University of Copenhagen. Published in Science Advances, their work reveals a method to transform plastic waste—one of our most stubborn pollutants—into an advanced material that can capture carbon dioxide directly from industrial emissions and even from the atmosphere. It is a vision of turning trash into treasure, of using yesterday’s waste to secure tomorrow’s climate.
PET Plastic: From Pollutant to Raw Material
Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, is one of the most widely used plastics on Earth. It is in water bottles, food packaging, textiles, and countless other products. Once discarded, however, PET becomes an environmental nightmare. Mountains of it end up in landfills, where it breaks down into microplastics that contaminate soil and groundwater. Huge amounts also drift into oceans, where sunlight, salt, and waves fragment them into smaller and smaller pieces, threatening marine ecosystems.
Traditionally, PET waste is either incinerated, adding more carbon to the atmosphere, or left to pollute the environment indefinitely. Recycling rates remain low, especially in developing regions. The University of Copenhagen’s new method offers a radical alternative: using PET not as waste, but as the foundation for a new carbon capture material.
Introducing BAETA: The Upcycled Sorbent
The researchers have developed a material they call BAETA, created by chemically transforming decomposed PET plastic. BAETA is a powdery substance with a specially engineered surface that binds to CO2 molecules with high efficiency. In other words, it acts like a sponge for carbon dioxide.
What makes BAETA extraordinary is not only its performance but its origin. Unlike conventional carbon capture technologies, which rely on expensive and energy-intensive materials, BAETA comes from a problem that is already choking the planet: plastic waste. By “upcycling” PET into a powerful CO2 sorbent, the researchers close a destructive loop and open a sustainable one.
How BAETA Works
The science behind BAETA is both elegant and practical. Exhaust gases from industrial chimneys can be directed through BAETA units. As the hot gases pass through, CO2 molecules adhere to the material’s surface. Once BAETA becomes saturated, the CO2 can be released simply by heating, allowing the gas to be concentrated, collected, and either stored underground or converted into useful resources such as synthetic fuels.
Unlike some carbon capture systems, which require high-energy conditions or degrade quickly, BAETA is remarkably durable and versatile. It functions efficiently across a wide temperature range—from room temperature to about 150°C—making it suitable for real-world industrial settings. Factories, power plants, and chemical facilities could potentially install BAETA systems at the end of their exhaust lines, preventing massive amounts of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere.
Sustainable, Scalable, and Flexible
One of the major obstacles in carbon capture has been scalability. Technologies that work in the laboratory often stumble when applied to the immense scale of global industry. BAETA offers a way forward. The process of making it is gentle, requiring only ambient temperatures for synthesis. This not only reduces energy costs but also makes large-scale production more feasible.
Moreover, the raw material—plastic waste—is virtually limitless. Billions of tons of PET already exist, with more being produced each year. Rather than seeing this as an environmental curse, the Copenhagen team reframes it as a resource waiting to be harvested. Even the degraded PET floating in the oceans could be collected and converted into BAETA, creating a direct economic incentive for cleaning up marine plastic pollution.
A Win-Win for the Planet
The invention represents a rare kind of environmental solution: one that does not shift the burden from one problem to another. Typically, efforts to tackle climate change create new challenges—biofuel crops compete with food production, renewable energy requires rare minerals, or carbon capture systems demand immense energy input. BAETA sidesteps this trap by turning one problem—plastic waste—into the solution for another—CO2 emissions.
As Margarita Poderyte, the study’s lead author, explained, “The beauty of this method is that we solve a problem without creating a new one.” Plastic that once polluted ecosystems can now help prevent climate catastrophe.
From Lab to Industry
For now, BAETA remains in the research stage, but the scientists are already planning the next steps. Scaling up production is the key challenge—moving from laboratory batches to tons of usable material. The team is seeking investment to develop BAETA into a commercially viable technology that can be installed in real-world industrial plants.
Technical hurdles do not appear insurmountable. The greater challenge lies in mobilizing political will and financial backing. If industries and governments commit to supporting such solutions, BAETA could be deployed within years, not decades. Its potential impact on global carbon emissions could be enormous.
A Shift in Perspective
Beyond the immediate innovation, BAETA represents a deeper shift in how we view environmental challenges. For too long, climate change and plastic pollution have been treated as separate crises, each demanding its own costly solutions. The Copenhagen breakthrough demonstrates that they are interconnected—and that the waste from one crisis can fuel progress in the other.
This shift is not only technological but philosophical. It suggests that we may need to stop thinking of waste purely as a liability and instead recognize its potential as a resource. It reframes the narrative of human impact on Earth: from a cycle of extraction and pollution to one of transformation and renewal.
The Promise of Tomorrow
Imagine a future where industrial smokestacks release only clean air because their emissions are captured by materials made from yesterday’s plastic bottles. Imagine oceans being cleansed of PET waste, not only for the sake of marine life but because that plastic has newfound economic value as a raw material for climate technology.
This is not science fiction. It is a plausible pathway charted by the University of Copenhagen’s discovery. If brought to scale, BAETA could help bend the trajectory of two of the 21st century’s most urgent problems.
Conclusion: Trash into Treasure
The story of BAETA is more than a tale of chemistry—it is a vision of resilience and ingenuity. At a time when environmental crises can feel overwhelming, it shows that solutions are possible, even elegant, when we look at problems not in isolation but in connection.
Plastic waste may have been one of humanity’s most reckless legacies. Now, through scientific creativity, it could become one of our greatest tools in the fight against climate change. What was once trash may yet turn into the treasure that helps secure a livable future.
More information: Margarita Poderyte et al, Repurposing Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste to Capture Carbon Dioxide, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adv5906. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv5906
