PLASTIC-EATING BACTERIA AND WORMS: FROM POLLUTION TO SOLUTION

Abstract

Because the chemical structures that give plastics their durability also make many of them resistant to biological degradation, plastic has emerged as one of the most enduring types of anthropogenic pollution. Recycling is still insufficient to stop plastic waste from building up in landfills and natural ecosystems, despite a sharp rise in plastic production and waste generation worldwide (Geyer et al., 2017). The variety and persistence of plastic waste cannot be adequately addressed by traditional methods like mechanical recycling, incineration, and landfilling, which has sparked interest in biological alternatives (He et al., 2024). Because certain species can colonize plastic surfaces, oxidize polymer chains, depolymerize particular polymers and use degradation products as sources of carbon and energy, microorganisms particularly bacteria have drawn increasing attention (Pérez-García et al., 2025). A significant area of study in enzymatic plastic recycling was sparked by the discovery of Ideonella sakaiensis and its PET-degrading enzymes, PETase and MHETase, which showed that microbial enzymes could directly attack polyethylene terephthalate (Palm et al., 2019). More recently, research has focused on insect larvae that consume plastic, such as mealworms, superworms, and waxworms, whose digestive systems and related microbes can change polymers like polystyrene and polyethylene (Sanluis-Verdes et al., 2022). Nonetheless, biological plastic degradation is still polymer-specific and frequently proceeds far more slowly in real-world environments than in ideal lab settings. Therefore, rather than serving as a stand-alone substitute for prevention, reuse, and traditional recycling, the available data points to biological degradation as a promising part of future plastic waste management. The variety of bacteria and insects that break down plastic, the molecular mechanisms of degradation, gut microbial interactions, significant enzymes, recent developments in enzyme engineering and metagenomics, the limitations of the available data and opportunities for translating biological discoveries into useful circular economy technologies are all examined in this review.