Nature Chemistry, Published online: 02 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41557-026-02232-4 Chemical recycling of polymers has largely relied on thermally unstable tailor-made materials or highly diluted depolymerization conditions. Now, a bulk main-chain scission pathway enables the rapid, low-temperature depolymerization of polymethacrylates. This methodology can be applied to commercial polymers without the need for preinstalled end-groups or sacrificial co-monomers, allowing high-yield recovery of monomers.