There’s a new hope that the plastic-pocalypse isn’t just around the corner for planet Earth. Despite the tens of millions of tons of plastic we throw away each year, the key to turning it all around might boil down to something you wouldn’t expect: worm guts—literally.
Looking at just Styrofoam cups alone, Americans discard 2.5 billion of them each year—merely a fraction of the 33 million tons of plastic that goes to waste in the United States annually. And we know it takes plastic literally hundreds of years to biodegrade on its own.



The study found that 100 mealworms were able to consume 40 mg of Styrofoam per day—a minuscule amount, about the same mass as a pill. The worms are not the solution for transforming plastic themselves—dumping a bunch of mealworms into a vat full of plastic waste was never the idea. The solution was to find out about whatever magic was taking place inside their guts—the chemical environment that transforms harmful plastics into harmless biomaterial—and to reproduce it. All that was left behind was some CO2 and stool that looked a bit like rabbit doo-doo. It was a remarkable discovery considering that Styrofoam was previously considered non-biodegradable.
Earlier research had already discovered that wax worms had the bacteria in their guts that could biodegrade polyethylene. The researchers had been planning to see if mealworms and other insects are able to biodegrade other plastics such as polypropylene (used in various products) and microbeads (used in exfoliants).
Just imagine if we could find a way to reproduce whatever it is that these worms do only on a larger scale. We could actually see some major changes in our society, in our economy, and in our ecosystem.


Dirty plastic cannot be recycled. While many people think they’ve done their part simply by tossing their used plastic bento box in the correct bin, it’s not always the case. Plastic has to be washed thoroughly before it can be utilized in recycling. Recyclers will often wash plastic multiple times before it is melted down. Dirty plastic is often deemed not viable for turning a profit.
Some plastic products are simply not recyclable, while some are but only if there is a market demand for them. Plastic bags and straws are simply not recyclable. Sometimes, computer parts such as keyboards are, but only if someone is willing to pay for them. Public recycling policy plays a pivotal role in generating this market demand.
