CSIR-IICT scientists turn ‘unrecyclable’ snack wrappers into fuel, plastics and hydrogen

Few people think twice before tossing an empty chips packet or snack wrapper into a rubbish bin at a canteen, cinema hall, or cricket stadium. Millions of such multilayer plastic wrappers, long considered unrecyclable, end up in landfills, are burnt, releasing toxic fumes or are washed into rivers and lakes.

The problem lies in their composition. Unlike glass or single-layer plastics, multilayer wrappers cannot decompose in soil or be easily melted down and reused. Now, scientists at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT) in Hyderabad claim to have found a solution to a problem that has stumped the recycling world for decades: converting Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) plastic wrappers into clean fuels, plastics feedstock and even green hydrogen.