Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, usually five millimetres or less in size, that are formed by breaking away from larger plastics found in our environment.
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles, usually five mm or less in size, that are formed by breaking away from larger plastics found in our environment.
They can also come from microbeads that are found in toiletries and microfibres that are released from clothes. The plastic pollution can linger in ecosystems for decades and now UBC zoologist Dr. Michelle Tseng and alumna Shim Gicole have found that mealworms may be the answer.After 30 days, the research team found the mealworms ate about half of the microplastics available, about 150 particles per insect and they gained weight.
Tseng said the next step will be to learn how the mealworms broke down the microplastics and investigate how that knowledge can be used to address plastic pollution.“We’re killing millions of insects every day from general pesticides – the very same insects we could be learning from to break down these plastics and other chemicals.”
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