Page 12 - KVIS Book

ENS02I

The plastic eating capability of invertebrate larvae:
mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) and greater waxworms
(Galleria mellonella)

Chawit Kaewnuratchadasorn, Puchiss Panitpotjaman, Putuchon Vongvorakul
Kamnoetvidya Science Academy, Thailand
Supervisor: Rowena Mary Miles
Email: chawit_k@kvis.ac.th

Plastic pollution has been a global issue due to the increased production rate and the
cost of recycling process which is unaffordable for many communities. Thus, cheap and
simple ways to eliminate these wastes such as combustion and landfill are more
commonly used and result in environmental concerns. In this study, the
biodegradation of plastics by two invertebrate larvae, mealworms (Tenebrio molitor)
and greater waxworms (Galleria mellonella) was investigated, with the purpose of
comparing their plastic-eating capabilities, with respect to their versatility and
consumption rates. Experiments were conducted over 12 days, testing the
consumption ability of the larvae against 5 types of plastic: high-density polyethylene
(HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and
polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The results show that the invertebrate larvae ate
LDPE and PS more obviously than other plastics. Possible future applications of this
knowledge include the development of a domestic composter containing worms for
plastic degradation, and further study isolating the bacteria and enzymes responsible
for the plastic decomposition.

Keywords: Biodegradation, plastics, mealworms, waxworms