Millions of tonnes of plastic waste, mainly package material is
generated world-wide. About 10% of the waste gets recycled and the rest
presents an environmental challenge in terms of water contamination and animal
poisoning. Plastic is not degradable and hence needs to be stored for longer
periods of time and is not environmental friendly. The major constituent in
plastic material is polystyrene.
A Stanford Report (Sept. 29, 2015) indicates that an ongoing
research in collaboration with researchers in China on plastic-eating worms may
offer a solution for safely biodegrade various types of plastic.
The tiny worm, which is the larvae form of the darkling
beetle can survive on a diet of Styrofoam and other types of polystyrene.
The study has opened a new door to the management of global plastic waste problem. It is long time to go before the research (in milligram levels) can be put into actual application in massive scale for plastic waste management. This needs to be addressed quickly to protect our environment, including marine life
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