A student in Xi’an City raised Tenebrio feeding birds and inadvertently found that Tenebrio was eating plastic. After more than one year of experimentation, she discovered that Tenebrio devours organic plastics and can digest and absorb. After absorbing plastic, it can grow and reproduce normally. There is an active substance in the body of Tenebrio that can digest organic plastics. It can also develop and strengthen. Her discovery won the second prize in the 18th China National Science and Technology Innovation Competition. Some media believe that this finding can be used to solve the problem of 'white pollution'.
The degradation of plastics has always been a concern in the industry. Plastic products are difficult to biodegrade, so they accumulate in the environment. According to experts, plastic waste is hard to degrade in nature, and its degradation cycle is generally 200 to 400 years. Discarded plastic waste not only seriously damages the environment, causes soil deterioration, and affects the growth of crops. After being eaten by livestock, it will cause livestock to become sick or even die. Plastic wastes thrown into rivers and lakes will affect navigation and cause water quality to deteriorate. In addition, when it is heated at a high temperature, it will produce "Erchi" which is harmful to the human body.
The student's discovery, if used to manage 'white pollution', is certainly a good thing. In theory, there is a certain degree of feasibility to deal with white pollution with Tenebrio, but the actual operation is very difficult. Tenebrio are small creatures and omnivores, and high-poly organics are not their main foods, which makes them consume other resources at the same time. In addition, the general “white pollution†material is highly toxic, so that whether Tenebrio as a high-protein feed can continue to use plastic as a feed is a big problem. Of course, there is a comparison of its processing capabilities and costs.
In fact, the most effective solution to the problem of white pollution is to control and use or recycle it from the source and the source, followed by the search for alternative products, and the third is to find biodegradable methods that can be industrialized. Therefore, in view of the current trend of 'white pollution' is still spreading, the author believes that the first priority is to establish a constraint mechanism that can not only restrict the production of plastic shopping bags, but also control the use of plastic shopping bags, that is not only to use Those who levied 'Plastic Bag Use Taxes' also had to impose a “Plastic Bag Pollution Control Tax†on the manufacturers. The second is to limit the use of plastic bags, develop strict quality standards and extend their useful life. Regulate the behavior of manufacturers and users, curb the occurrence of misuse of abuses and littering, and severely crack down on the underground black factory black market for the manufacture and sale of inferior plastic bags. Unqualified plastic bags are strictly prohibited from entering the market. At the same time, "green consumption" is advocated so that consumers can develop good habits of using or reusing shopping bags. Third, it is recommended that relevant scientific research institutions can develop new products that can replace plastic bags without polluting the environment as quickly as possible, and also provide people with a clean living space.