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Introduction
It is inevitably proven that Styrofoam degrades super slow, which is why it’s
such a big problem that most of the times people do dump million of tons of it to
landfills – not to mention all the stuff that just end up as a litter or floating in the
ocean. Although, even with so many of us are doing our bit to help out with recycling,
the amounts of discarded plastics still increases, that is why until now garbage remain
as a burden. But an invaluable breakthrough as this study has been discovered which
could technically broaden our mind in the world of Science. The stomach of this
insect contains bacteria which can breakdown plastics and Styrofoam. The
Styrofoam thrown anywhere. This study comes from the heels of discovery that the
larvae of another insect called mealworm, much smaller, less aggressive compared to
Beihang University, and Stanford University engineer Wei-Min Wu. The research
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is about the weight of a pill, every day. Scientists also paid attention to the
mealworms' overall health and saw larvae that ate a diet subsisting strictly of
Styrofoam were as healthy as mealworms eating a normal diet of bran. This study
became the researcher’s foundation in trying the closed relative species of mealworms
called Superworms/Zophobas Morio, which is way more active and bigger than
mealworms.
scoff Styrofoam as the insects rather the larvae they have used and said
Superworm/Zophobas Morio are more likely relevant to each other in some ways.
This IP is highly assumed to be successful for the pleasure of the researcher to help.
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Conceptual Framework
The input is the title of the study. It involved the variable of the study which is
The process showed that the superworms which include the instrument used in
gathered the data needed specifically, the researchers conducted an observation and
examination of superworms.
The output includes the overall observation that the worms can digest
affecting their
overall health.
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Statement of the Problem
Main Objective:
Specific Objectives:
1. How can it be possible for the worms to ingest and digest plastics?
2. How can it be possible for the worms to ingest and digest Styrofoam?
3. What are the possible effects of the plastics and Styrofoam to the
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Significance of the study
In general, the findings of this study provide information and solution on how
to degrade plastic wastes. Specifically, the results of this study will benefit the
following:
To the community, it will help to reduce the global epidemic disease from plastic and
Styrofoam and also its adverse effect to the environment will be prevented likewise
environment by lessening the garbage specially the Styrofoam and plastic and in
To the organization that handles sanitary landfill, it will help to reduce plastic and
it is hard to recycle.
To the future researchers, it will serve this study as a basis in gathering information
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Scope and Delimitation
The researchers involved 100 superworms that served as the variables for this
study. Researchers used 2 kinds of plastic which is plastic bag and plastic cup also in
styrofoam they used 2 kinds which is food-storing and school material. Nonetheless
this study was delimited to the effectivity of superworms to digest styrofoam and
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Definition of Terms
Inevitably - unavoidably.
Mealworm - are capable of degrading polystyrene into usable organic matter .They
Subsisting - maintaining.
of our society.
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Chapter II
Foreign Literature
morio to safely ingest and digest plastics and Styrofoam. Garbage is a big problem.
Styrofoam has become such an accepted everyday product rarely stop to realize that it
is made for polystyrene, a petroleum-based plastic. There are only few people who
and safely eat Styrofoam”, styrofoam and in particular Styrofoam cups, are
everywhere, and less than 10 percent of those used in the United States get recycled.
In the first study researchers found that mealworms fed only Styrofoam were just as
healthy as mealworms fed the more traditional meal (bran, in this case). Each worm
could eat about a pill-sized portion every day. In the second study focused on the
mealworms' gut microbes, which are able to break down the plastic safely. The
researchers were able to turn these bacteria into a film that they applied to
polystyrene, a form of the same plastic used to make Styrofoam. The bacteria were
also able to eat through polystyrene, but at a much slower rate than the mealworms.”
offer solution to mounting waste”, the tiny worm, which is the larvae form of the
darkling beetle, can subsist on a diet of Styrofoam and other forms of polystyrene,
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Microorganisms in the worms' guts biodegrade the plastic in the process – a surprising
and hopeful finding. In the lab, 100 mealworms ate between 34 and 39 milligrams of
Styrofoam – about the weight of a small pill – per day. The worms converted about
half of the Styrofoam into carbon dioxide, as they would with any food source. Within
24 hours, they excreted the bulk of the remaining plastic as biodegraded fragments
that look similar to tiny rabbit droppings. Mealworms fed a steady diet of Styrofoam
were as healthy as those eating a normal diet, Wu said, and their waste appeared to be
safely digest Styrofoam”, the researchers found that each mealworm consumed from
12 to 100 milligrams of Styrofoam per day, depending on their larval stage and size.
After roughly 10 days adapting to the new diet, the mealworms could degrade the
plastic in their guts in less than 24 hours, turning 47.7 percent of what they ingested
into carbon dioxide and most of the rest into fecal matter. “If proven possible by other
groups, these studies should have a major impact on the large problem of plastic
wastes in the environment.” Bassi says he would be interested in studies focus on the
According to the study of Imam (2015) entitled, "The most important part
understands that the mealworm's gut is so efficient in degrading plastic," he said that
the bacteria is essential. When researchers fed mealworms antibiotics and then plastic,
that plastic was not degraded. “The mealworm's gut environment is very important,"
he said. The hope is that by understanding the mechanisms inside the mealworm's gut,
scientists and engineers can create either new ways of degrading plastic waste or find
degradation of plastics like Styrofoam may take decades or hundreds of years. The
researchers found that the worms converted half the Styrofoam into carbon dioxide—
same as they would with any food source—and the rest was excreted within a day as
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Local Literature
however, the researchers found that Galleria Mellonella, commonly known as wax
worms, can damage polyethylene by chewing and eating. The researchers were given
an idea by the said organism and began to wonder if other worms like Zophobas
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Chapter III
procedure. The variables of the study serves as the 100 superworms and equally
separate it in 4 containers. Every container has different content inside. The first
container has food-storing container, the second container has school material
styrofoam, the third container has plastic bag and the last container has a plastic cup
and all of them consist of 25 worms. There are different measurement of plastic and
styrofoam given to know the limit of the superworms in digesting and it is measured
in centimeter. After preparing the superworms and separating it, the researchers starts
to observe it to prove their study about the effectivity of superworms to digest the
In order to prepare for the experimentation, the things needed were: Gloves, 4
containers, 100 pieces of superworms, Styrofoam and a small size of plastic. Wear the
gloves as you’re going to touch the worms. Put the 100 worms on the container also
put some soil and wood fillings. Isolate 4 set of 25 worms from the mother container
and put them on the other 4 containers together with different kinds of plastic and
styrofoam which is plastic bag, plastic cup, food-storing and school material
styrofoam. Observe the behavior of the superworms for about five months and also if
they will digest the styrofoam and plastic without affecting their health.
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Chapter IV
In this chapter, data are shown in table form. This data shows the ability of
worms to digest food-storing Styrofoam, school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and
plastic cup.
Table 1
Are the
Month of
worms able
to digest it? February
1 2 3 4
25 worms with Cm given to the
.21 .17 .20 .20
Styrofoam Yes worms
(food-storing)
Cm consumed in .15 .17 .18 .16
Cm given to the
25 worms with .21 .21 .17 .15
Yes worms
Styrofoam
(school material) Cm consumed in .21 .15 .13 .15
Cm given to the
25 worms with .21 .15 .18 .15
Yes worms
plastic
(plastic bag) Cm consumed in .14 .15 .13 .14
Cm given to the
25 worms with .15 .10 .10 .10
worms
plastic Yes
(plastic cup) Cm consumed in .10 .08 .10 .8.5
school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup for the month of February. The
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Table 2
Are the
worms able Month of March
to digest it?
1 2 3 4
25 worms with Cm given to the
.15 .17 .20 .20
Styrofoam (food- YES worms
storing)
Cm consumed in .15 .16 .18.5 .15
Cm given to the
25 worms with .20 .18 .18 .20
YES worms
Styrofoam
(school material) Cm consumed in .18 .16 .18 .16.5
Cm given to the
25 worms with .17 .17 .15 ..15
YES worms
plastic
(plastic bag) Cm consumed in .15 .14 .14 .12
Cm given to the
25 worms with .12 .11 .10 .10
worms
plastic YES
(plastic cup) Cm consumed in .11 .8 .9 .8.5
school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup for the month of March. The
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Table 3
Are the
worms able Month of April
to digest it?
1 2 3 4
25 worms with Cm given to the
.20 .18 .18 .20
Styrofoam (food- YES worms
storing)
Cm consumed in .18 .17 .18 .17
Cm given to the
25 worms with .18 .18 .17 .20
YES worms
Styrofoam
(school material) Cm consumed in .18 .15 .17 .19
Cm given to the
25 worms with .14 .16 .15 .14
YES worms
plastic
(plastic bag) Cm consumed in .14 .13 .14 .12
Cm given to the
25 worms with .10 .10 .09 .10
worms
plastic YES
(plastic cup) Cm consumed in .09 .08 .09 .7.5
school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup for the month of April. The
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Table 4
Are the
worms able Month of May
to digest it?
1 2 3 4
25 worms with Cm given to the
.18 .20 .18 .20
Styrofoam (food- YES worms
storing)
Cm consumed in .18 .16 .18 .19
Cm given to the
25 worms with .20 .18 .20 .20
YES worms
Styrofoam
(school material) Cm consumed in .18 .17 .20 .17
Cm given to the
25 worms with .12 .11 .13 .13
YES worms
plastic
(plastic bag) Cm consumed in .10 .11 .11 .13
Cm given to the
25 worms with .09 .08 .09 .09
worms
plastic YES
(plastic cup) Cm consumed in .07 .08 .06 .09
school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup for the month of May. The
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Table 5
Are the
worms able Month of June
to digest it?
1 2 3 4
25 worms with Cm given to the
Styrofoam (food- YES .20 .20 .22 .21
worms
storing)
Cm consumed in .18 .20 .20 .20.5
Cm given to the
25 worms with .18 .20 .20 .22
YES worms
Styrofoam
(school material) Cm consumed in .18 .18 .20 .22
Cm given to the
25 worms with .14 .13 .14 .13
YES worms
plastic
(plastic bag) Cm consumed in .12 .13 .12.5 .12
Cm given to the
25 worms with .10 .8 .9 .8
worms
plastic YES
(plastic cup) Cm consumed in .07 .08 .7.5 .08
school material Styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup for the month of June. The
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Table 6
What are the possible effects of the plastics and Styrofoam to the superworms when
consumed?
Does it affect
Superworms in an controlled
the overall Observation
area
health?
Table 6 shows that the researchers also observed that the appetite of
superworms is not consistent, they changed based on the total of cm that were given
to them every week, and the evidence is based upon the results through comparing the
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Chapter V
Summary
if the superworms will eat it without affecting their health. They accomplished the
The purpose of this study is to prove that superworms can safely digest
polystyrene, particularly Styrofoam and plastics. All of the table shows that there are
25 superworms that have been isolated in a 4 different container and the researcher
tried to feed them food storing, school material styrofoam, plastic bag and plastic cup
and are observe if they will be able to ingest Styrofoam. Also, the researchers
measures the ingested part on material in centimeters. They were given different
range and amount of their alternative food to see if they can eat a large quantity as the
After observing the superworms for 5 months, the researchers gather the result
and noticed that they digest different amount of food every month. Overall, the
observation and experimentation are what the researchers expected. The great potency
of superworms as natural plastic and Styrofoam disposer just like the mealworms was
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Conclusion
Based on the series of studies, trials and experimentations, the researchers was
able to prove that the superworm/ Zophobas Morio can consume our waste. The
investigations.
After several long process and methods done, the researchers concluded that
this study bears positive result. The superworms/ Zophobas Morio was verified that it
can degrade Styrofoam and plastics. This study has proven to be beneficial as the
darkling beetle and was proven to dispose plastic and Styrofoam which are known to
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Recommendation
favorable environment to the superworms in a way that they will be able to ingest and
digest plastics and Styrofoam without affecting their appetite. Also, the researcher
challenges the future researchers to discover another animals or species that will be
A similar study can be conducted with a larger sample size, so that one may be
able to use the diverse demographic information when comparing the results.
can cause health problems. Keep water out of a superworm's container as much as
possible.
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Bibliography
Ziv, S., (2015). Plastic eating mealworms can safely digest Styrofoam
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Appendices
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Appendix A
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Appendix B
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Adelle Grace Montessori School Inc.
Poblacion, Arayat, Pampanga
Curiculum Vitae
Personal Information
Gender: Female
Rodolfo Melo
Mangga Cacutud
Elementary 2007-2013
Elementary School
Justino School High
Junior High School 2013-2017
School
27
Adelle Grace Montessori School Inc.
Poblacion, Arayat, Pampanga
Curiculum Vitae
Personal Information
Gender: Female
28
Adelle Grace Montessori School Inc.
Poblacion, Arayat, Pampanga
Curiculum Vitae
Personal Information
Gender: Female
Christroper Paras
29
Adelle Grace Montessori School Inc.
Poblacion Arayat Pampanga
Curiculum Vitae
Personal Information
Gender: Female
30