A good catalyst for the selective hydrogenolysis of waste CCl2F2 (CFC-12) into the high added value product CH2F2 (HFC-32) has been developed. This catalyst is based on palladium on activated carbon and shows a high selectivity (70-90%) at all conversion levels. It is important to purify the activated carbon support prior to impregnation of the palladium salt. A nitrogen heat pretreatment enhances the stability and activity. During reaction, an increase in selectivity to CH2F2 has been found. This increase, without loss in activity, can be explained by further lowering the amount of impurities by the produced HF and HCl. These impurities, like iron and aluminium, are responsible for chlorine/fluorine exchange and total hydrogenolysis activities. It was found that during reaction the palladium was converted into palladium carbide.