Plastic waste clogging landfills and contaminating oceans may soon meet its match. Scientists have engineered a plastic-eating “worm gut” that can break down plastics—a breakthrough that could help tackle the global plastic pollution crisis.
The innovation comes from researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who created an artificial version of the gut of Zophobas atratus, a beetle larvae able to thrive on a diet of plastic.
Scientists Isolate Plastic-Munching Bugs from Worms’ Guts
The artificial “worm gut” was created by first feeding Zophobas atratus larvae three common plastic types: high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS). A control group of worms was fed a diet of oatmeal.
A.C. Dahnke
Author
A.C. Dahnke is a freelance writer and editor residing in California. She has covered community journalism and health care news for nearly a decade, winning a California Newspaper Publishers Award for her work.
