Scientists Discover that Worm Gut Bacteria Degrades Plastic

Everyone knows that plastic is difficult to degrade, persisting in the environment for years after it's discarded. Now, though, scientists have discovered that some bacteria from the guts of waxworms could potentially help us eliminate plastic trash.

Plastic contributes significantly to litter and landfills, and microbeads of plastic can be found across the surface of the world's oceans. Yet very little can be done to break down this plastic. Now, though, scientists have discovered that bacteria from the guts of worms that are known to munch on food packaging can degrade polyethylene, which is the most common plastic.

Each year, the global plastics industry churns out about 140 million tons of polyethylene every year. Much of this plastic goes into bags, bottles and boxes than many consumers use regularly and then throw out. For years, scientists have tried to find out how to make this plastic disappear. And while recent studies have tried using bacteria, these techniques required first exposing the plastic to light or heat.

In this case, the researchers found that at least two strains of the waxworm's gut microbes could degrade polyethylene without a pretreatment step. These results, in particular, point to a more direct way to biodegrade plastic. That said, researchers still need to conduct further testing. In the future, though, there may be a new, quicker method to get rid of all of the plastic waste that fills landfills and other dump sites.

The findings are published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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