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posted by janrinok on Friday January 03 2020, @12:32AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-know-an-old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly dept.

Mealworms safely consume toxic additive-containing plastic:

Tiny mealworms may hold part of the solution to our giant plastics problem. Not only are they able to consume various forms of plastic, as previous Stanford research has shown, they can eat Styrofoam containing a common toxic chemical additive and still be safely used as protein-rich feedstock for other animals, according to a new Stanford study published in Environmental Science & Technology.

The study is the first to look at where chemicals in plastic end up after being broken down in a natural system -- a yellow mealworm's gut, in this case. It serves as a proof of concept for deriving value from plastic waste.

"This is definitely not what we expected to see," said study lead author Anja Malawi Brandon, a PhD candidate in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. "It's amazing that mealworms can eat a chemical additive without it building up in their body over time."

In earlier work, Stanford researchers and collaborators at other institutions revealed that mealworms, which are easy to cultivate and widely used as a food for animals ranging from chickens and snakes to fish and shrimp, can subsist on a diet of various types of plastic. They found that microorganisms in the worms' guts biodegrade the plastic in the process -- a surprising and hopeful finding. However, concern remained about whether it was safe to use the plastic-eating mealworms as feed for other animals given the possibility that harmful chemicals in plastic additives might accumulate in the worms over time.

"This work provides an answer to many people who asked us whether it is safe to feed animals with mealworms that ate Styrofoam," said Wei-Min Wu, a senior research engineer in Stanford's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering who has led or co-authored most of the Stanford studies of plastic-eating mealworms.

[...] "This is a wake-up call," said Brandon. "It reminds us that we need to think about what we're adding to our plastics and how we deal with it."


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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Friday January 03 2020, @12:34AM (6 children)

    by Gaaark (41) on Friday January 03 2020, @12:34AM (#938887) Journal

    If you bake them, they taste like popcorn!

    If you eat them raw? Not so good. And chewwwwwy.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 03 2020, @01:40AM (5 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 03 2020, @01:40AM (#938906) Journal

    Will mealworms dispose of unwanted bodies? I may want to hire some.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by Gaaark on Friday January 03 2020, @01:47AM (1 child)

      by Gaaark (41) on Friday January 03 2020, @01:47AM (#938909) Journal

      Plastic bodies? Are these your REALDOLLS?
      :)

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 03 2020, @02:58PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 03 2020, @02:58PM (#939073) Journal

        Plastic bodies may have actual value.

        Meat bodies may need proper disposal without leaving evidence behind.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday January 03 2020, @03:49PM (2 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday January 03 2020, @03:49PM (#939098) Journal

      Pigs do that already, don't they? Being in the South as you are, you should easily be able to find a hog operation that can accommodate your needs.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 03 2020, @11:09PM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 03 2020, @11:09PM (#939272) Journal

        Not many hog houses left. Tyson put the screws to them, several years ago. And, the hog farmers are awfully touchy about who they permit to come on their property. I'd have to bring a farmer in on the secret, which would just be one more body I had to dispose of. That old saw about, two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead would apply.

        • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday January 05 2020, @01:19PM

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Sunday January 05 2020, @01:19PM (#939798) Journal

          Sure. it would have to be a farmer providing a service, like a fence or crooked accountant who helps you hide your drug proceeds.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.