Solving problem of plastic waste-natural solutions
Australia’s spring cleanup-solving problem of plastic waste
Following metabolic pathways of animals capable of digesting wax in nature, scientists found the closest species with the ability to break down plastic materials. This could be a natural solution for a major problem of plastic waste in our environment.
One of these animals is G. mellonella. Its larvae parasites the honeybees and intrudes space within the hive and lay eggs in the cracks. Later, larvae feed on the wax comb and other materials like pollen, propolis, and honey. Finding that this creature ingests wax and metabolizes it to simpler products was the first clue to discovering possibilities of cleaning up the greatest pollutant as plastic is.
How can a caterpillar break down such difficult material is yet to be investigated in detail. Certain is that they can digest polyethylene and knowing this was a great headstart for further research. Now we have a hope to solve the problem of the world’s plastic waste by using existing creatures.
In nature, everything stays in balance. For honeybees, wax caterpillar-like G. mellonella is a major treat. This is why a controlled population of both groups is necessary. Till now, we only knew that wax caterpillars caused the natural loss (and economic) of honeybees, and therefore treated them as pests. Nowadays, a new fact emerged-their ability to break down plastic makes them a valuable organism.
“In laboratory experiments with G. mellonella caterpillars, about 100 caterpillars consumed 92 milligrams of a polyethylene-plastic shopping bag over the course of 12 hours. (1) While it is clear that the caterpillars are consuming the plastic, more research needs to be done to determine if this chemistry is the result of G. mellonella or its gut flora. The moth's larvae break down polyethylene to ethylene glycol and a mass loss of 13% polyethylene over 14 hours has been documented in polyethylene films.(2,3)
Besides wax caterpillars, other species are identified as being capable to digest plastic.
“Another closely related species of waxworm, Plodia interpunctella, has been the subject of research which isolated two strains of bacteria from its gut, Enterobacter asburiae and Bacillus species which have been demonstrated as capable of growing on and decomposing polyethylene plastic in a laboratory setting.”(4)
To bring these solutions to the light of the day is not an easy path. Together, with the benefits of crowdfunding like Readyfundgo, natural solutions could be developed and help us cure our beautiful and only home, planet Earth.
"Could These Tiny Plastic-Eating Caterpillars Hold The Answer To Our Trash Problem? - Hydration Anywhere". hydrationanywhere.com. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
Bombelli, Paolo; Howe, Christopher J.; Bertocchini, Federica (2017-04-24). "Polyethylene bio-degradation by caterpillars of the wax moth Galleria mellonella". Current Biology. 27 (8): R292–R293. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.02.060. hdl:10261/164618. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 28441558.
Khan, Amina (April 24, 2017). "Stubborn plastic may have finally met its match: the hungry wax worm". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
Yang, Jun; Yang, Yu; Wu, Wei-Min; Zhao, Jiao; Jiang, Lei (2014-12-02). "Evidence of Polyethylene Biodegradation by Bacterial Strains from the Guts of Plastic-Eating Waxworms". Environmental Science & Technology. 48 (23): 13776–13784. doi:10.1021/es504038a. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 25384056.
