Study says meal worms may reduce plastic waste

Global Business

The United States produces more than 855 million kilograms of Styrofoam each year. Professors at Stanford University in California have discovered that a very tiny creature may hold promise for cutting down all that waste.

Researchers discovered that meal worms – the larvae form of the darkling beetle – can survive on a diet of Styrofoam and other forms of polystyrene.

Engineering professors at California’s Stanford University, in collaboration with Beihang University in China, have found that some crawling critters could take a bite out of the problem. More questions remain, like whether other worms or insects could eat Styrofoam or other plastics.

The Stanford professors say this is just the beginning of their research and another case of important science coming from bizarre places.

CCTV America’s Mark Niu reports from Stanford, California.

Study says meal worms may reduce plastic waste

The United States produces more than 855 million kilograms of Styrofoam each year. Professors at Stanford University in California have discovered that a very tiny creature may hold promise for cutting down all that waste.