The chemical recycling of end‐of‐life plastics/polymers can contribute to a more sustainable society. In this regard, the selective degradation (depolymerization process) leading to well‐defined low molecular weight chemicals is a key feature of the chemical recycling. Based on that, we have investigated the depolymerization of end‐of‐life poly(lactide)‐based (PLA) goods. In more detail, applying a combination of methanol and catalytic amounts of 4‐dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) end‐of‐life PLA was depolymerized to methyl lactate, a chemical which can be is used as “green” solvent or as starting material for new poly(lactide) products. With the assistance of microwave heating an excellent rate of depolymerization (>99%) was observed within short reaction times (10‐20 min). Interestingly, a set of 16 PLA commodities was efficiently transformed to methyl lactate.

The recycling of poly(lactide) (PLA) is studied. Using methanol and alkali‐metal‐halides as catalyst, PLA is degraded to produce methyl lactate, which is a suitable chemical for the regeneration of PLA. An excellent degree of degradation (conversions: >99%, yields: >99%) is achieved in less than 20 min utilizing microwave heating. Remarkably, PLA goods are successfully converted into methyl lactate.