It is known that every minute 2 million plastic packaging is used worldwide. Scientists from all over the world are trying to solve this problem. Now they have hope thanks to the worms.
This informs Adme.
This is a caterpillar, which is also called a waxworm. It parasitizes bee colonies and eats wax. It is also used as food for terrarium animals.
It turned out that this caterpillar can digest plastic. Professor Federica Bertocchini, a beekeeper, put waxworms in a plastic bag, and later found numerous holes in it. This inspired her to experiment with other scientists – Paolo Bombelli and Christopher J. Howe. A study was organized: they put the worms in plastic bags, and after 40 minutes, holes began to appear in them, and after 12 hours, the plastic weight decreased by 92 mg. Worms do not just eat plastic, but really destroy its chemical bonds.
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