We are slowly
burying ourselves under trash of our own creation. So
far, it has looked like there weren't many ways to dig
ourselves out. But now we're learning that our greatest
ally in unburying ourselves might be a superworm! One of
the worst villains in the trash crisis is polystyrene
(commonly called styrofoam). As a
petroleum-based product, this product is extremely
difficult to recycle — and horrendous for our Earth.
Plus, since it's so rigid and dense, it takes
up a lot of space, even after it's thrown out! Research
suggests styrofoam can take as many as 500 years to
break down and decompose — time we do not have. Lucky for us, beetle
larvae called zophobas
morio can actually survive by eating
polystyrene alone!
Of all the
countries in the world, the U.S. is one of the
most wasteful, accounting for almost 300 million tons of
trash each year. This has gotten worse since
the 1950s, when companies intentionally shifted towards
single-use packaging and containers. That includes
styrofoam takeout containers at restaurants, styrofoam
cups for picnics, even styrofoam coolers, and much more.
This all has to go somewhere — usually to
landfills and the oceans, which causes increased
pollution and other environmental problems! And
so far, humans have had a hard time figuring out many
alternatives. Enter: the superworm. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must team up with
this little hero, and fund research about how these
worms could help with waste management. Getting our
waste crisis under control will help curb the climate
crisis, improve human and wildlife health, and clear our
beautiful Earth of the trash mountains that plague it.
Sign the petition to tell the
EPA it must invest in researching this amazing superworm
to curb our waste
crisis!
