If there’s one creature that won’t be running out of eats any time soon, it’s the waxworm caterpillar, which apparently has an appetite for the environmental scourge that is plastic.
The discovery was made by accident when biologist Federica Bertocchini was gathering the pests off her beehives and found they were nibbling holes right through the plastic shopping bag. She brought her discovery to the attention of Paolo Bombelli and Christopher Howe at the University of Cambridge to see if she was onto something.
Turns out, the waxworm is far faster when it comes to consuming plastic than the bacteria and mealworms scientists previously discovered had an appetite for the stuff.
“If a single enzyme is responsible for this chemical process, its reproduction on a large scale using biotechnological methods should be achievable,” says Bombelli. “This discovery could be an important tool for helping to get rid of the polyethylene plastic waste accumulated in landfill sites and oceans.”
Perhaps there is a light at the end of this long, plastic-clogged tunnel, after all.
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