Methanolysis of polyethylene terephthalate to dimethyl terephthalate is a sustainable route for recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. Herein, we demonstrate that mesoporous Beta zeolite supported zinc oxide (Zn-Beta-meso) is efficient for methanolysis of polyethylene terephthalate to dimethyl terephthalate, exhibiting ~ 99.9% dimethyl terephthalate yield at 180 °C after reaction for 30 min. Model reactions confirmed that the key step in PET methanolysis was the methanolysis of 2-hydroxyethyl methyl terephthalate to form dimethyl terephthalate, where the highly dispersed zinc species are the active sites for this step. In addition, the Zn-Beta-meso catalyst was active for the methanolysis of various PET substrates. When bottle with pigment, terylene, transparent adhesive tape, and soundproof cotton were applied as the substrates, full PET conversion and higher than 99.0% dimethyl terephthalate yield were obtained.