Plastic-eating caterpillars could chow on waste
- 7 years ago
SANTANDER, SPAIN — After years of trying to find a way to get rid of plastic waste, scientists may have finally found a solution, courtesy of an ordinary bug.
Wax moth caterpillars that typically eat beeswax in hives have been found to also be capable of degrading plastic, according to a new study published in Current Biology.
Polyethylene is one of the most commonly used plastics, with strong carbon-to-carbon bonds that render it resistant to degradation. Unlike organic matter, plastic materials can take hundreds of years to decompose completely.
However, wax worms were able to make holes in a polyethylene bag in just 40 minutes, eventually eating through most of it in just a few hours.
Researchers suspect bacteria in the worms’ guts are responsible for digesting the plastic and breaking it down into ethylene glycol, an organic compound.
Scientists want to study the chemical process that allows polyethylene to be degraded, and maybe adapt it into a solution for managing the world’s plastic waste.
Wax moth caterpillars that typically eat beeswax in hives have been found to also be capable of degrading plastic, according to a new study published in Current Biology.
Polyethylene is one of the most commonly used plastics, with strong carbon-to-carbon bonds that render it resistant to degradation. Unlike organic matter, plastic materials can take hundreds of years to decompose completely.
However, wax worms were able to make holes in a polyethylene bag in just 40 minutes, eventually eating through most of it in just a few hours.
Researchers suspect bacteria in the worms’ guts are responsible for digesting the plastic and breaking it down into ethylene glycol, an organic compound.
Scientists want to study the chemical process that allows polyethylene to be degraded, and maybe adapt it into a solution for managing the world’s plastic waste.