
Helpful Insects
Insects Turn Plastic Waste into Soil Amendments

We can "Rot" Plastics
Mealworms break down Expanded Polystyrene (EPS, #6 plastics)
Learn more
99% of EPS goes to the landfill
Consumers want to recycle EPS, but have few convenient options
Why does this matter?
Include insect ingredients in healthy foods
Adding insects to your diet provides additional diversity for your gut microbiome
Decomposing Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
Across the industrialized world, insect agriculture is experiencing an innovation boom. The team at Planet Bugs is building a new kind of insect farm -- one that can also process some of our hard to recycle plastic wastes. We're starting with expanded polystyrene (commonly thought of as Styrofoam™). Researchers discovered that the gut bacteria of the larval forms of the darkling beeltle (tenibrio molitor - aka mealworm) will break down this polymer, leaving no trace of styrene in the insect or its frass (i.e., excrement).
At our pilot biofactory we will show how to add an EPS waste stream on top of a traditional mealworm farm in a safe, efficient, and profitable way.
