Is waxworm new solution for plastic degradation?

Is waxworm new solution for plastic degradation?

Each year, the world produces 300 million tons of plastic, much of which resists degradation and ends up polluting every corner of the globe. But a team of European scientists may have found a unique solution to the plastic problem. They discovered that a common insect can chew sizable holes in a plastic shopping bag within 40 minutes.

Two species of waxworm, Galleria mellonella and Plodia interpunctella have both been observed eating and digesting polyethylene plastic. The waxworms metabolize polyethylene plastic films into ethylene glycol, a compound which biodegrades rapidly. This unusual ability to digest matter classically thought of as non-edible may originate with the waxworm's ability to digest beeswax. Two strains of bacteria, Enterobacter asburiae and Bacillus sp, isolated from the guts of Plodia interpunctella waxworms, have been shown to decompose polyethylene in laboratory testing. In a test with a 28-day incubation period of these two strains of bacteria on polyethylene films, the films' hydrophobicity decreased. In addition, damage to the films' surface with pits and cavities (0.3-0.4 μm in depth) was observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic-force microscopy.

Placed in a polyethylene shopping bag, approximately 100 Galleria mellonella waxworms consumed almost 0.1 gram (0.0032 ounces) of the plastic over the course of 12 hours in laboratory conditions.

Polyethylene sits around in the environment because its molecules are so hard to break down. Ordinary soil microorganisms don’t have the resources for it. These plastics are built up from the hydrocarbon molecules in oil, and would turn them back into oil after we had used them, regenerating a valuable substance rather than sacrificing it as waste. Chemist have been working long and hard to do that, using special catalyst to induce the chemical reactions. But its tough, and only recently have they started to see progress. Its precisely because was us chemically similar to polyethylene that the was moth caterpillars can biodegrade it.

Those bacteria could provide the ideal solution. They could be brewed up in fermentation vats that would dissolve plastics without anyone having to contemplate breeding vast moth colonies. Alternatively, it might be possible to extract the particular enzymes the caterpillars use and put them to work on their own a kind concentrate of gastric juices.

These are the real reasons why the new discovery is promising, and not because we will soon be feeding plastics bags to caterpillars. As usual with science, you don’t get the solution on a plate, but have to follow clues with patience and care. It doesn’t make for great headlines.