Do you know what most of the developed and developing countries suck at even after becoming globally advanced and successful? Besides being all rich and technologically strong even America has no control over its inability to control waste and recycle its plastic wastes. Plastic is non-biodegradable and the biggest contributor to global pollution.
Researchers have found this environmental villain’s tough enemy – mealworms! “Researchers have learned that the meal-worm can live on a diet of Styrofoam and other types of plastic,” as reported by CNN.
Styrofoam-eating mealworms might help reduce plastic waste, researchers say https://t.co/3nFiJ7ZVBX pic.twitter.com/CXTykU8YOV
— CNN (@CNN) September 30, 2015
Mealworms are the larvae form of the darkling beetle.
According to new studies published in Environmental Science and Technology by co-authors Professor Jun Yang and his doctorate student Yu Yang of Beihang University, and Stanford University engineer Wei-Min Wu, a meal-worm’s gut has microorganisms that can easily biodegrade polyethylene, which is a common form of plastic.
Source“The findings are revolutionary. This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in environmental science in the past 10 years,” Wu told CNN.
These worms can only consume 34 to 39 milligrams of Styrofoam, every day and have been healthy through the research period. Mealworms that ate Styrofoam, transformed it into carbon dioxide, worm biomass and biodegradable waste.
According to Stanford University engineer Wei-Min Wu, cockroaches can also eat plastic but they have not shown any signs of biodegradation. Wax-worms also chew, eat and digest the plastic that is used to make garbage bags.
Scientists are working on finding out if the microorganisms living inside the worm’s gut can biodegradeanother form of plastic, polypropylene, which is used in making car parts, textiles and microbeads
The news is just great however, it leaves us with an important message. To avoid using plastic and creating waste. Throwing plastic goods out of your house is not a part of cleaning the house. you dirtying your environment. You are contributing to the increasing amounts of non recyclable waste in your country.
News Source: CNN
