SANTANDER, SPAIN — After years of trying to find a way to get rid of plastic waste, scientists may have finally found a solution, courtesy of an ordinary bug. <br /> <br />Wax moth caterpillars that typically eat beeswax in hives have been found to also be capable of degrading plastic, according to a new study published in Current Biology. <br /> <br />Polyethylene is one of the most commonly used plastics, with strong carbon-to-carbon bonds that render it resistant to degradation. Unlike organic matter, plastic materials can take hundreds of years to decompose completely. <br /> <br />However, wax worms were able to make holes in a polyethylene bag in just 40 minutes, eventually eating through most of it in just a few hours. <br /> <br />Researchers suspect bacteria in the worms’ guts are responsible for digesting the plastic and breaking it down into ethylene glycol, an organic compound. <br /> <br />Scientists want to study the chemical process that allows polyethylene to be degraded, and maybe adapt it into a solution for managing the world’s plastic waste.