Worming Our Way Through Plastic

Overview

The rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products has overwhelmed the world’s ability to effectively manage plastic waste. This experiment investigated which of two types of worms, waxworms and superworms, would consume the most polyethylene plastic over a five-day period. These organisms are able to digest plastic due to phenol oxidase enzymes present in their saliva. It was hypothesized that the worms would consume less plastic when their favorite food was available and that superworms without their favorite food would consume the greatest amount of plastic. To test this hypothesis, four experimental groups were established: one hundred waxworms with no food and one plastic bag, one hundred waxworms with their favorite food (brown sugar cereal) and a plastic bag, one hundred superworms with no food and a plastic bag, and one hundred superworms with their favorite food (bran cereal) and a plastic bag. This experiment was repeated three times. Each container was covered with Saran wrap, pierced with small air holes, and labeled accordingly. The plastic bags were weighed at the beginning of the experiment to obtain an initial mass. Data was collected by removing and weighing each plastic bag daily for five days to measure plastic consumption. The results revealed that the hypothesis was not supported, as the superworms without food did not consume the most plastic. Instead, the waxworms without their favorite food consumed the greatest amount of polyethylene during the five-day period. These findings suggest that waxworms may be more effective at breaking down polyethylene when no alternative food source is available.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Environmental Engineering (Track 2) (Senior Division) · Entry S-12-16

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