Photo #1: Meal worms eating a plastic bag (Polyethylene) low density
Photo #2 and #3: Meal worms eating styrofoam (Polyethylene) high density
Photo #2 and #3: Meal worms eating styrofoam (Polyethylene) high density
la_sci__fair_presentation_plastic_eating_worms.pptx | |
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wax-moth-caresheet.pdf | |
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zophobas_morio.docx | |
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greater_wax_moth_larvae.docx | |
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pet_eating_bacteria_science.pdf | |
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Time to Eliminate Plastic Waste. Let’s put worms to work! Or beetles?
Abstract
Our goal is to reduce environmental waste and to research and experiment with recently discovered plastic eating worms and beetles. People should care because it will help make earth a cleaner and healthier environment by providing a solution to the millions of tons of annually discarded plastic products.
This is also a broader concern because of the plastic that is contaminating and killing marine organisms, those that we eat and others that all comprise part of the marine ecosystem. Our hypothesis is that while specific species of worms do eat forms of plastic, it might not provide a mass solution to plastic waste. We did advance research and discovered that mealworms and super-worms have been shown to eat plastic like styrofoam and plastic bags.
We have begun our experiment with various species of worms placed in glass containers with different types of plastic (styrofoam, films, PET, etc.). We have had rapid results, pictures and data on weights of worms and remaining plastic pieces. Regardless of our experimental results, our project can highlight the importance of discovering technical and scientific innovations to the plastics problem. Thru our outreach presentations to others we can emphasize the importance of re-use, recycling and alternatives to plastic use.
Abstract
Our goal is to reduce environmental waste and to research and experiment with recently discovered plastic eating worms and beetles. People should care because it will help make earth a cleaner and healthier environment by providing a solution to the millions of tons of annually discarded plastic products.
This is also a broader concern because of the plastic that is contaminating and killing marine organisms, those that we eat and others that all comprise part of the marine ecosystem. Our hypothesis is that while specific species of worms do eat forms of plastic, it might not provide a mass solution to plastic waste. We did advance research and discovered that mealworms and super-worms have been shown to eat plastic like styrofoam and plastic bags.
We have begun our experiment with various species of worms placed in glass containers with different types of plastic (styrofoam, films, PET, etc.). We have had rapid results, pictures and data on weights of worms and remaining plastic pieces. Regardless of our experimental results, our project can highlight the importance of discovering technical and scientific innovations to the plastics problem. Thru our outreach presentations to others we can emphasize the importance of re-use, recycling and alternatives to plastic use.