Plastic-eating superworms with ‘recycling plant’ in their guts might get a job gobbling up waste

Plastic-eating superworms with ‘recycling plant’ in their guts might get a job gobbling up waste

via SCMP Scientists from Australia’s University of Queensland have discovered that a type of beetle larvae called Zophobas morio can consume and break down polystyrene. Research published in the scientific journal Microbial Genomics on June 9, 2022, says the superworms possess special gut enzymes that can break down plastic. The researchers say they now hope to study the enzymes to engineer ways the substance could be used to break down and dispose of plastic waste in the future.

National Science Foundation Awards Grant to Rensselaer Polytechnic for Research into New Plastic

via Plastics Today

With the support of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, chemical engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, aim to develop a new polymer that can replace polystyrene (PS). While PS is inexpensive and easy to make, it is difficult to break down into its original components for re-use through a process called depolymerization. Founded in 1824, Rensselaer is America’s first technological research university.

Read the full story here: https://www.plasticstoday.com/materials/national-science-foundation-awards-grant-rensselaer-polytechnic-research-new-plastic/21414866763275

Polystyrene ball-stick model with 11 countable monomers. PakpongICCH444 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Polystyrene Scrap for Sale – 160k lbs

Domino Plastics currently has the following plastic materials available for immediate sale:

160,000 pounds of Polystyrene Scrap For Sale  –  mostly from foamed profiles

  1. Approximately 234 gaylords of the process waste. 107,000 lbs. (these are the miter cut and tail pieces of the extruded polystyrene profile)
  2. Approximately 16 gaylords of the same material but already in regrind form. 10,000 lbs.
  3. Approximately 32 gaylords of this material in pelletized form (slight paper content). It is a foamed profile. 44,745 lbs.
By mixing each truckload with 7 resin gaylords, 4 regrind gaylords, and 41 scrap gaylords, we could average approx. 30,000 lb. loads.
Please contact us for pricing and pick up information. (631) 751-1995. Joe@domplas.com