塑料污染對地球環境的破壞日益嚴重，因此積極采取措施解決這個問題已經迫在眉睫。一種較為方便的方法是塑料垃圾回收，但這種方法不夠有效。科學家們一直在想方設法解決塑料污染問題，現在他們發現粉蟲或許可以發揮作用。

《環境科學與技術》上發表的一項研究稱，粉蟲能夠消化塑料，將塑料轉化為二氧化碳，而不是如《經濟學人》所報道的那樣轉化為糞便排出體外。研究發現，粉蟲消化道中有一種細菌，可以幫助迅速降解聚合物。其他研究還發現，粉蟲還可以消化聚苯乙烯塑料。

當前這項研究顯得尤其重要，因為塑料正在給環境及人類健康造成越來越多的負面影響。環境工程師珍娜·詹貝克曾在2015年就這個話題開展了一項研究。她發現，每年約有190億磅塑料進入海洋，預計到2025年數字會翻倍。塑料會威脅整個生態環境，造成更多動物死亡，而塑料微粒進入食物鏈，則會給人類帶來健康風險。

研究人員將粉蟲分成多個小組。幾組粉蟲以1.8克聚苯乙烯、聚乙烯和兩種塑料的混合物為食物。其他幾組則以塑料搭配麥麩為食。在為期32天的試驗結束時，粉蟲的存活率超過90%——麥麩搭配塑料的小組存活率最高。食用聚乙烯的粉蟲可將50%的塑料轉化為氣體；對聚苯乙烯的轉化率為45%。

粉蟲不僅有助于解決塑料污染危機，也是應對全球糧食危機的一種重要工具。法國農業科學家安東尼·休伯特一直在培育粉蟲，制作成“高蛋白”飼料，用于飼養動物和養魚，最終變成人類餐桌上的美食。休伯特稱，粉蟲制成的飼料“蛋白質含量非常高”，而且對于動物是健康的。另外，這種飼料對環境也有積極的影響，因為傳統動物飼養的二氧化碳排放量，約占全球總排放量的25%。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓?

As the damaging effects of plastic pollution continue to increase, it’s growing increasingly necessary to take aggressive action against them. Recycling is one of the more conventional approaches to tackling the plastic waste problem, but it may not be effective enough. Scientists looking for ways to fight the pollution problem are now finding that mealworms might be useful in the process.

According to a study in Environmental Science & Technology, mealworms are able to consume plastics and convert them into carbon dioxide, rather than passing the plastics in their feces, as The Economist reports. A bacteria found in the guts of mealworms can help quickly break down polymers, the study found. Other research has found that they are also able to digest a plastic called polystyrene.

The research is especially important now, as plastics have growing, negative impacts on the environment as well as human health. Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer who conducted a 2015 study on the topic found that nearly 19 billion pounds of plastic ends up in the ocean each year, and the number is expected to double by 2025. Plastic poses a threat to entire ecosystems, killing more animals, and puts human health at risk as microplastics make their way into the food chain.

Researchers studying the mealworms divided the insects into different groups. The groups of worms were given 1.8 grams of polystyrene, polyethylene, or both. Others received wheat bran to supplement their plastic diets. By the end of the 32-day experiment, more than 90% of the worms survived—the ones who were given wheat bran with their plastic did the best. Mealworms that were fed polyethylene were able to convert 50% of the plastic into gas; and the ones that consumed the polystyrene were able to convert 45%.

Not only do worms have the potential to be instrumental in the plastic pollution crisis, they have also been seen as a tool in fighting the global food crisis. The French agricultural scientist, Antoine Hubert, has been farming mealworms and turning them into “high-grade protein” to feed the animals and fish that humans will later eat. The mealworm-based animal feed is “super–high protein,” according to Hubert, and healthy for the animals that consume it. It can also have positive effects on the environment, as more conventional animal-feeding, like crops, emit about 25% of total carbon dioxide emissions.