** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** BECAUSE OF THE LOW COSTS TO MANUFACTURE, PLASTICS HAVE BEEN WIDELY USED IN AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEMS, ESPECIALLY FOR FOOD PACKAGING.POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET), A POLYESTER PLASTIC, IS THE MOST WIDELY USED PLASTIC MATERIAL FOR FOOD PACKAGING. THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PET FOR FOOD PACKAGING ARE CONSTANTLY INCREASING AT A RATE OF 5.2% WORLDWIDE.BECAUSE PET IS NON-BIODEGRADABLE, IT CAN TAKE YEARS TO DEGRADE WHEN DISCARDED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. PLASTIC POLLUTION HAS RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION AND BECOME A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE. ALTHOUGH SOME STRATEGIES (E.G., PREVENTION MEASURES, CLEAN-UP ACTIVITIES, AND AWARENESS INSTRUMENTS) HAVE BEEN RAISED, IT IS STILL NOT FEASIBLE TO REMOVE DISCARDED PLASTICS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT AND FIX THE EXISTING WIDESPREAD PLASTIC POLLUTION. IN RECENT YEARS, CHEMICAL RECYCLING OF PET WASTE HAS BEEN ACTIVELY STUDIED.FOR CHEMICAL RECYCLING, PET POLYMERS ARE BROKEN DOWN TO THEIR MONOMERS OF TEREPHTHALIC ACID (TPA) AND ETHYLENE GLYCOL (EG) THAT CAN BE REFINED OR RE-MANUFACTURED INTO HIGH-VALUE PRODUCTS, BUT THESE METHODS HAVE SEVERAL DISADVANTAGES, INCLUDING HIGH COST, COMPLICATED PROCESSING STEPS, AND POOR COMPATIBILITY WITH DOWN-STREAM REFINED PROCESSES.TO PERFORM AN ENVIRONMENTAL-FRIENDLY AND GREEN DEPOLYMERIZATION OF PET WASTE, THE DISCOVERY OF PLASTIC-DEGRADING ENZYMES HAS OPENED A NEW AVENUE FOR PET DEGRADATION AND RECYCLING.?