Hong Kong's per capita plastic waste generation is among the highest in the world. While a small portion of the plastic waste is recycled, most of it aggregates in our landfills, which is not sustainable at all in a tiny city of Hong Kong.
Mealworms may perhaps be coming to our rescue, according to some scientists. These little bugs can survive on a diet of styrofoam and other types of polystyrene plastic, which are currently considered non-biodegradable. However, the microbes in the mealworms' intestines can convert half of the plastic into carbon dioxide during the digestion process and then excrete the rest. The worm castings may even be safe for use as compost to produce soil nutrients. The plastic-consuming mealworms appear to be as healthy as their normal-diet-consuming counterparts.
If the scientists can understand more about the microbes inside the mealworms, they may be able to culture the microbes or develop enzymes to efficiently break down our plastic trash on an industrial scale. It will become a major step in solving our mounting waste problem.
| JPC Monthly Newsletter | |
| Editor： | Police Public Relations Branch, 11/F Arsenal House, Police Headquarters, No. 1 Arsenal Street, Wan Chai, HK. |
| Tel： | 2860 6157 |
| Fax： | 2200 4304 |
| JPC homepage： | http://www.hkpjpc.org.hk |
| Police homepage： | http://www.police.gov.hk |