Researchers reported on Tuesday that two components in the saliva of wax worms, moth larvae that consume wax produced by bees to create honeycombs, quickly degrade a common type of plastic, suggesting a potential breakthrough in the worldwide fight against plastic pollution.
The two enzymes found in caterpillar saliva, according to the researchers, were shown to dissolve polyethylene—the most common plastic in use worldwide and a significant factor in the environmental problem that affects everything from mountaintops to ocean trenches—quickly and at room temperature.
The research expands on the 2017 discovery by the researchers that wax worms could break down polyethylene, though at the time it wasn’t apparent how these tiny insects did it. Enzymes, which are chemicals made by living things that start biological reactions, were the solution.
