Scientists in Kenya team up with mealworms to help solve the plastic problem in Africa

Erik Barnes
Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:48:51 +0000
Plastic, Science, Discovery, Environment, Plastic eating insects, Plastic eating worms

A scientific discovery could potentially be a breakthrough for Africa’s landfills. Scientists have discovered that a Kenyan mealworm species has the ability to eat and digest polystyrene—better known to most of us as styrofoam.

Researchers at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology conducted a month-long study that found that the stomach bacteria within the larvae of Alphitobius darkling beetles can adapt their enzymes to break down styrofoam. These mealworms not only can digest it, but seem to grow an appetite for the plastic, too. While they cannot get their fullest nutrition on styrofoam alone, the mealworms were able to ingest hydrogen and carbon from it through digestion. These mealworms are commonly found as pests in chicken coops and poultry production facilities, so there’s no worry of a worm shortage.

Styrofoam is widely used for food containers, shipping materials, insulation, electronics, and many other products. While it is incredibly useful, it’s also piling up in our landfills since there is no way for it to degrade or decompose naturally like organic garbage and other material. Properly recycling styrofoam also has its drawbacks, as it is expensive to process and produces other pollutants.

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While these plastics are a problem globally, they’re especially an issue in Africa. The region is predicted to amass 116 million tonnes of plastic waste by 2060. According to the charity Tearfund, enough plastic waste to cover a soccer field is tossed or burned in sub-Saharan Africa every minute. It’s theorized that this Kenyan mealworm’s adaptation was due to the amount of styrofoam that has invaded their local environments. The hope is that this discovery can help its native continent first then possibly expand application worldwide.

Now before you think that the solution is to just have millions of these mealworms unleashed into landfills to feast on our trash, the scientists involved are continuing their research. One of the next steps is to study the bacteria in the hope to obtain, recreate, and distribute the bacteria and enzymes on their own. They also plan on trying to see if these mealworms could digest other plastics and, if so, if they can remain healthy. Should the positive momentum continue, this wouldn’t just help the environment in Africa but could provide global applications in how we dispose of our plastic trash.

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Science is a funny thing. We like to champion it yet underestimate it at the same time. Federal funding for scientific research is at historic lows and the average American seems skeptical towards scientific studies in general. Understandably, many everyday people would think less about studying bugs since there’s no apparent human benefit or application towards larger issues compared to those studying how to make various rockets, vehicles, or other technology. Yet now it seems like studying something very small and insignificant like a mealworm could help preserve our planet in the long term.

It’s the perfect example of how investment, patience, and study could lead to surprising solutions that never would’ve been considered otherwise, even if it seems unimportant on the surface. On top of that, it shows how every living thing plays a role in our Earth’s preservation. Even tiny, squiggly mealworms.