There May Soon Be a Way to "Digest Away" Earth's Polyethylene Problem

Galleria mellonella, the greater wax moth or honeycomb moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. G. mellonella is found throughout the world.

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

     There are various types of plastics -- and each of them has to be dealt with uniquely. Polyethylene, a "soft" plastic used for wrapping and in the manufacture of transparent plastic bags has proved to be one of the hardest to deal with. Depending on the form, polyethylene takes between 100 and 400 years to break down.

   But thanks to Federica Bertocchini, this could be a thing of the past!  Not only is Bertocchini a scientist -- she is also a bee lover. By a fortuitous discovery she stands to become one of the most influential "Friends of Earth".

   While tending to her bees, Bertocchini discovered that the polyethylene bags into which she had placed wax worm larvae (until her maintenance was finished) had holes eaten in them -- apparently by the larvae. In that moment, Bertocchini saw the light -- and a new research project was born.

   You see, Bertocchini works as a research scientist for the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). She now knows that wax worms (larvae of the Galleria mellonella -- also known as the greater wax moth or honeycomb moth), which feed on honey and wax from the honeycombs of bees -- produce enzymes that allow them to digest polyethylene.

   Results of preliminary research on this, conducted by Bertocchini and colleagues Paolo Bombelli and Chris Howe will be published in the next issue of the journal "Current Biology".

   As of now almost one-third of the problematic hard-to-degrade waste plastic we are dealing with is composed of various types of polyethylene. If a way to biodegrade that polyethylene through in vitro means can be devised, that will mark a step forward in our battle with pollution from plastics...

   How fortuitous that Federica Bertocchini happens to be a bee afficionado -- and how her hobby ties in with her job. She has been surprised by wax worms' ability to degrade polyethylene. It appears that wax worm larvae and Federica Bertocchini, working in tandem, may be the source of at least one "solution to pollution".

   Will enzymes apparently produced by the larvae of Galleria mellonella soon be produced by manufacturing processes yet to be developed! I hope so.

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2024 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprisesss