On October 1, 2015 (August 19, 2015 lunar calendar), bugs feed on plastic or can be used to treat white pollution. On October 1, 2015, Chinese and American researchers reported in the new issue of the American "Environmental Science and Technology" magazine that yellow mealworms can swallow and completely degrade plastics. They have isolated bacteria that survive on polystyrene in yellow mealworms and preserved them. This study provides the first scientific evidence that microorganisms can effectively degrade polystyrene, providing a new idea for biodegradation methods to treat "white pollution". Yellow mealworms, also known as mealworms, are artificially farmed in large quantities for animal feed. Previous researchers have claimed to have isolated bacteria that degrade polystyrene, but there is a lack of strong physical and chemical analysis evidence to support the degradation of polystyrene by microorganisms, and the relevant microorganisms are not collected by internationally recognized microbial centers, so such research results are not recognized by the academic community. Mealworms that chew on polystyrene foam during plastic feasts are promising signs of plastic pollution. Researchers at Stanford University and Beihang University in the United States observed in the laboratory that 100 mealworms can swallow 34 to 39 milligrams of polystyrene plastic per day, which is equivalent to the weight of a small tablet. These plastics stay in the intestines of the mealworms for less than 24 hours, and about 48% of them are degraded into carbon dioxide, and a small part is absorbed. Studies have shown that mealworms that feed on polystyrene are as healthy as normal mealworms, and their excrement can also be used for crop soil fattening. The mealworms' gut microbes play a decisive role in the breakdown of plastics. For the first time, researchers have isolated a strain of bacteria from the mealworms' gut that can use polystyrene as the only growth nutrient, and preserved the bacteria in the General Microbiology Center of the China Microbial Species Preservation and Administration Commission. Looking for marine life eaters Another study in this area may involve finding the marine biological equivalent of mealworms to digest plastics, Criddle said. Plastic waste is especially problematic in the ocean, destroying habitats and killing countless seabirds, fish, turtles and other marine life. However, more research is needed to understand the favorable conditions for plastic degradation and the enzymes used to break down polymers. This, in turn, may help scientists design more powerful enzymes to degrade plastics and guide manufacturers in designing polymers that do not accumulate in the environment or in the food chain. The latest research results of the Sino-US joint team not only provide strong scientific evidence for microbial degradation of plastics for the first time, but also provide new ideas for the development of technologies to biodegrade polystyrene plastic products. The Sino-US joint team will also further study the degradation of different plastics by mealworms and other insects, providing a basis for the development of enzyme preparations and other biodegradation technologies to treat plastic pollution.