Page 12 - KVIS Book
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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
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