BIOhome is a DIY plastic decomposing system that utilizes live worms and mushrooms to biodegrade plastic while teaching the user about recycling, composting, and the natural life cycle. Similar to a traditional worm composter, the BIOhome utilized worms such as mealworms and wax worms to biodegrade plastic. In addition, the incorporation of oyster mushrooms in the system allows our plastic composter to biodegrade a variety of plastic materials, from plastic bags to styrofoam. The user provides the plastic in addition to any needed additional substrate to feed the organism. The organisms will breakdown the plastic material in a matter of weeks to a few months and the waste product produced by the organisms in the form of grass or the fruiting bodies of mushrooms can be introduced to the environment as fertilizer.
Depending on the user's plastic recycling needs, their willingness to interact with the live organisms, and the organisms' maintenance there is a composting unit for everyone.
The Systems
Mealworm System
Mealworms are the larval form of the Darkling Beetle, Tenebrio Molitor. While mealworms are commonly used as bird or reptile feed, recent studies have shown that they also have the ability to digest plastic. Given their microbiome makeup along with their physiological processes, mealworms are shown to be efficient bioreactors that can mechanically breakdown and completely biodegrade plastic. As the mealworms undergo their complete life cycle, they metamorphosed into pupae and then beetles. As beetles they can lay eggs and continue to eat plastic at this stage. Mealworms are ideal organisms to breakdown polystyrene-based plastic such as Styrofoam.
Mushroom System
The common oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus, is a type of wood-decaying fungi that have been recently studied to be able to enzymatically degrade plastic, like LDPE. It is believed that the enzymes the mushroom secrete through their root structure, mycelium, not only breakdown organic matter but also plastic. The enzymes secreted by the mushroom breaks down the plastic material into other matter that can easily be reabsorbed by the mushroom.
Waxworm System
Waxworms are the larva of wax moths, A.grisella, and as their name implied, the worms and the moths eat beeswax. While they may be seen as a pest to beekeepers, wax worms are one of the few organisms that have recently been studied to be able to digest polyoxyethylene based plastic such as LDPE. Their ability to breakdown beeswax, along with their microbiome makeup, allows these organisms to eat plastic. As the waxworm continues through their life cycle they will develop into pupae that will eventually become moths. As moths, while there are no studies that show the wax moths having the ability to eat plastic like wax worms, they can reproduce and lay eggs giving rise to a new generation of plastic-eating wax worms.
