Plastic pollution has lingered for decades in every ecosystem on the planet, and scientists have been exploring different ways to stem the menace, with insects gaining traction in the process. Despite this, the production and use of plastics around the world have accelerated over the decades, with a chunk of this ending up in the oceans. Research has found that insects can ingest and absorb pure, unrefined microplastics. Could this be a solution?
A study by researchers from the University of British Columbia, Published earlier this month has proven that mealworms could be the solution to microplastic pollution in the oceans. Microplastics result from the breakdown of macroplastics – bottles, wrappers, etc. They are particularly troublesome because they are hard to detect but pose great danger to marine life, the environment, and human health.
The Zoologists led by UBC zoologist, Dr. Michelle Tseng and alumna Shim Gicole tested mealworms in a more realistic scenario, feeding them ground-up face masks, a common plastic product, mixed with bran, a tastier option. After 30 days, mealworms consumed roughly half the microplastics provided, averaging 150 particles per insect, and gained weight. They excreted only a small portion, 4-6 particles per milligram of waste while absorbing the rest. Their survival and growth remained unaffected.
This scientific breakthrough is a glimmer of hope to the world after the dismal failure of the Plastic Solution Talks in Busan, South Korea. After two years of negotiations, the talks failed to produce a treaty. Disagreements centered on capping plastic production, managing harmful chemicals, and providing financial support for developing nations.
Eirik Lindebjerg from WWF criticized the impasse, stating, “We know what we need to do to end plastic pollution… simply adding more meetings is not the solution.”
Dr. Jennifer Brandon, a sustainability consultant and leading expert on the emerging dangers of microplastics, says that at least 90 percent of the trash is microplastics. World Wildlife Fund estimates that microplastics make up 94 percent of objects in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
The University of Newcastle’s Pacific Engagement Coordinator, Dr Sascha Fuller says plastic pollution is everyone’s problem. “Around ninety percent of plastics produced end up in our environment. A large proportion of this is in our oceans.”
Dr. Fuller further says that large ocean small island developing nations, such as Samoa, are disproportionately impacted. Despite its known harms, the rate of toxic plastics production and consumption across the world is accelerating.
Many plastic removal technologies have not been tested to evaluate their effectiveness in the context of organisms living within the plastic ecosystem itself. Some clean-up devices have been shown to harm quantities of marine organisms, including fish, crustaceans, and seaweeds–that far exceed the amount of plastic captured, meaning their overall impact on the ocean is potentially more harmful than helpful.
Dr. Tseng says the next step will be to learn from the insects’ digestive mechanisms how to break down microplastics and scale up these learnings to address plastic pollution.
“Perhaps we can start viewing bugs as friends. We’re killing millions of insects every day from general pesticides, the very same insects we could be learning from to break down these plastics and other chemicals.”
