These ‘superworms’ can eat plastic waste

The larva of the Zophobas morio darkling beetle are called superworms for a reason: They can eat plastic waste.

A study in Australia showed that these superworms can eat and digest Styrofoam without gaining weight.

According to microbiologist Christian Rink, “The worm first shreds the polystyrene [versatile plastic used to make a variety of consumer products] in smaller parts, then the microbes chemically or basically use the enzymes to degrade it further.”

Through the metagenomics technique — basically the study of a specific group of microorganisms — the genetic material from the superworms sample was analyzed to know which enzyme can consume plastic.

As it turns out, a bacterial enzyme in their gut gives them the, well, super power to eat plastic waste. As such, there are now plans to use these enzymes in recycling plants.

According to the UN Environment Programme, there are 7 billion tons of plastic produced in the whole world and less than 10% are recycled.

With a growing problem of plastic pollution — microplastics have already been found in human blood — these superworms could certainly be a big help in decreasing plastic waste. — Nika Roque/LA, GMA News