Simple, eco-friendly method turns world’s toughest plastic into useful chemicals

Researchers from Newcastle University and the University of Birmingham developed a groundbreaking method to recycle Teflon, one of the world's most durable plastics, using only sodium metal and mechanical shaking at room temperature. This eco-friendly process breaks down hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Teflon waste that typically ends up in landfills, extracting valuable fluorine used in medicines and advanced materials while avoiding toxic byproducts.