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Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Thunder possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Thunder possible. Low around 65F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

In last month’s article, I pointed out that Newsweek magazine had some encouraging words concerning plastic packaging. Confirming this trend, I mentioned Coca-Cola’s World Without Waste initiative. I have since learned that Pepsi is following suit by introducing new materials in their bottle caps that allow the caps to be efficiently recycled while attached to the bottles.

In addition, Nestlé reported that 39% of its packaging materials are from renewable sources, primarily paper and cardboard, Apple has a comprehensive paper and packaging strategy, which reduced the plastic of its cellphone packaging by 84%, and Samsung announced plans to replace plastic packaging with paper and other renewable materials, even if the alternate materials are at a higher cost. Good progress in addressing plastic waste from the consumer industry’s point of view.

Accepting business’s responsibility for reducing plastic packaging of their products joins legislation and public opinion as major drivers in solving the plastic environmental crisis.

To address the problem, government regulation has increased in many areas to help inspire change and reduce the impact of plastics. Certain single-use plastics (e.g., drinking straws, plastic bottles, shopping bags) have been identified as the leading contributors to plastic pollution and are the target of most legislation. Eight states have plastic bag legislation, and several cities have banned plastic drinking straws altogether.

Public awareness of plastic waste in the environment has risen to an all-time high.

Google Trends’ “Interest over Time Index” shows concern over plastic waste and pollution has quadrupled. Further, the report confirms 64% of Americans say they prefer paper food packaging over plastic or Styrofoam, 48% try to reduce their use of plastic items such as straws, cups or bags, and 65% say that sustainability of packaging is more relevant to them today than five years ago.

I have learned that research should be recognized as an equally valuable tool. It may make your skin crawl to hear (no pun intended) that Enzymatic Recycling — using enzymes in the guts of worms to break down plastics — seems one of the most promising candidates to deal with the deluge of plastic waste. Researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia have discovered a species of worm with an appetite for polystyrene. Project lead Dr. Chris Rinke wrote that the future of biological solutions to degrade plastic waste might be with plastic-chomping worms.

He explained, “We knew that small insect larvae such as wax worms can eat holes into plastic bags, so we speculated that much larger superworms might be able to eat even larger amounts of it. The superworms were skeptical at first, but after 24 hours they started to explore and eat polystyrene.”

He divided superworms into three groups: one on their regular diet of wheat bran, one on solely polystyrene, and the last group was on a diet without food. The major findings were that superworms can survive on a solely polystyrene diet, and even gain a small amount of weight, which suggests that the worms can gain energy from eating polystyrene. Two-thirds of the polystyrene-reared superworms even completed the entire life cycle, formed pupae and emerged as adult beetles.

In further creepy-crawly news, scientists in Japan have discovered a polyethylene-degrading bacterium on larvae and insects living in landfills, prompting Rinke to continue, “We have also just begun to expand our search for plastic-degrading enzymes to move beyond insect larvae. We will screen habitats all around the globe, including landfills, rivers and deep sea sediments, for enzymes capable of degrading a wide range of plastics and bioplastics.” This is good news for recycling fans and for the environment.

Judie Butterfield is the chairman of the borough Recycling Committee and can be reached at 717-337-0724 or jbfd@comcast.net.

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