Plastic-Eating Worms Could Inspire Waste-Degrading Tools

[Beelzebub]

Wax moth larvae can consume and degrade polyethylene at an impressive rate

Researchers in Spain and England recently found that the larvae of the greater wax moth can efficiently degrade polyethylene, which accounts for 40 percent of plastics. The team left 100 wax worms on a commercial polyethylene shopping bag for 12 hours, and the worms consumed and degraded about 92 milligrams, or roughly 3 percent, of it. To confirm that the larvae’s chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown, the researchers ground some grubs into a paste and applied it to plastic films. Fourteen hours later the films had lost 13 percent of their mass—presumably broken down by enzymes from the worms’ stomachs.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plastic-eating-worms-could-inspire-waste-degrading-tools/

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[Drakkith]

To confirm that the larvae’s chewing alone was not responsible for the polyethylene breakdown, the researchers ground some grubs into a paste and applied it to plastic films. Fourteen hours later the films had lost 13 percent of their mass—presumably broken down by enzymes from the worms’ stomachs.

I'm never taking part in one of their studies...

 

[BillTre]

I would consider trying to grow the catepillers, to eat plastic shopping bags, if the bags weren't already eliminated from the Eugene area where I live.

Wonder if they would be an invasive species.

 

[Beelzebub]

I'm never taking part in one of their studies...

haha I'm really glad wax worms have grown an appetite for polyethylene as well; hopefully, they'll grow even bigger appetites and help us when it comes to dealing with pollution.

Here is a video of them eating a plastic bag:

http://uk.businessinsider.com/plastic-eating-worms-reduce-pollution-moth-larvae-2017-5

 

[Beelzebub]

I would consider trying to grow the catepillers, to eat plastic shopping bags, if the bags weren't already eliminated from the Eugene area where I live.

Wonder if they would be an invasive species.

Well, I hope they would since apparently, we would need a whole lot of them to combat the plastic waste problem. But at least it gives some hope. :)

These creatures, the larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), can devour polyethylene, which along with the closely related polypropylene is the main type of plastic found in waste. But you’d need an awful lot of them to make a significant dent on the plastic waste problem. The UK alone discards almost 2m tonnes of this stuff every year. At the rate of consumption reported by the researchers – one worm gets through about two milligrams of plastic a day – you’d need billions of caterpillars eating constantly all year round to deal with that.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/25/plastic-eating-bugs-wax-moth-caterpillars-bee
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