Affiliations 

  • 1 Environmental Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
  • 2 School of Dental Sciences, Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, Malaysia
  • 3 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Polymers (Basel), 2022 Nov 07;14(21).
PMID: 36365762 DOI: 10.3390/polym14214770

Abstract

Recently, the contribution of earthworms to plastic degradation and their capability to swallow smaller plastic fragments, known as microplastics, has been emphasized. The worm physically changes the size of microplastics and enhances microbial activities to increase the possibility of degradation. However, no research has shown that earthworms can chemically degrade microplastics to an element form, CO2 or H2O. In this review, previous research has been thoroughly explored to analyse the role that earthworms could play in plastic degradation in the soil. Earthworms can significantly affect the physical characteristics of plastics. However, earthworms' abilities to chemically degrade or change the chemical structure of plastics and microplastics have not been observed. Additionally, earthworms exhibit selective feeding behaviour, avoiding areas containing a high plastics concentration and rejecting plastics. Consequently, earthworms' abilities to adapt to the microplastics in soil in the environment can cause a problem. Based on this review, the challenges faced in earthworm application for plastic degradation are mostly expected to be associated with the toxicity and complexity of the plastic material and environmental factors, such as the moisture content of the soil and its temperature, microbial population, and feeding method.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.