Can these worms eat our way out of the plastic crisis?

DW (English)

Plastic waste is piling up — but scientists in Serbia have found unlikely allies: mealworms that can digest Styrofoam. They also make useful byproducts, ranging from animal feed to organic fertilizer. This zero-waste solution could transform agriculture and food production in the future.

Transcript

00:01What's harmful waste to us is tasty food for them.

00:06Researchers at the Institute for Biological Research, Sinisa Stankovic,

00:10have been breeding and studying mealworms for decades.

00:14And now they've made a breakthrough.

00:17These larvae can break down plastic.

00:21Like all the bacteria in our organism that help us to cook food,

00:27this is the same with larvae.

00:32And thanks to these microbiological cultures,

00:36they are able to plant plastic and water,

00:40which are used in their own body mass,

00:43and you don't have any damage to the produce.

00:48One container holding a few million mealworms larvae

00:51can break down a ton of styrofoam per year.

00:54In nature, that same amount of styrofoam

00:57would take more than 500 years to decompose.

01:01Moreover, the larvae, once processed,

01:03can be used as a nutritious supplement in animal feed,

01:06and their waste can serve as organic fertilizer in agriculture.

01:11You really have a free system where you can use waste as a food.

01:18Every product in that cycle you use for something,

01:21and that is the so-called zero waste system.

01:24And from that reason, this becomes very popular,

01:27and I would like to say that this will be a new plant of agriculture in the future.

01:32The company Belinda Animals has taken this science and turned it into practice.

01:39On their farm, they are raising mealworms,

01:41and plan to create a regional network of farms that adopt this innovative approach.

01:47For farmers, it's a win-win.

01:49They reduce waste and get a natural feed additive for pigs and poultry,

01:53while helping protect the environment.

01:59When a larva eats a kilogram of styrofoam,

02:01it emits only 1-2 grams of emisional guglian dioxide in the atmosphere.

02:07If a kilogram of styrofoam goes up in a cement,

02:12it emits only 3,960 grams of emisional guglian dioxide in the atmosphere.

02:17That means 4,000 times bigger growth.

02:23But this is only the beginning.

02:25Mealworms have already made it onto dinner plates in parts of the EU

02:29as ingredients in energy bars, pasta or as a protein supplement.

02:34Experts believe Serbia may soon approve them for human consumption too.

02:47Can you tell me if you made more of a bag of water?

03:04But this is a great thing.

03:07I'm like your boss, not a cat.

03:09There's a more of a bag than another.

03:11I'm like.

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