Tiny Caterpillar Eats Plastic Bags

If you were a waxworm, the caterpillar of the greater wax moth, the answer might be, “a plastic bag, my dear!”

Around the world, 5,000,000,000,000 (that’s five trillion) plastic bags are used each year, with Americans using about 365 bags per person each year.1 Each bag takes about 1,000 years to break down, but they never really go away—they just break into smaller parts (called microplastics).

This kind of plastic pollution is a big problem we must solve to be good stewards of God’s creation. No one wants a planet covered in plastic, or soil and water filled with teeny tiny bits of microplastic, right? Gross! That’s where caterpillars might come in!

In just 24 hours, 2,000 waxworms can eat an entire plastic bag, turning it into body fat. The caterpillars can then be used as fish food, essentially turning our plastic waste into food.

But a plastic-only diet is a bit rough on the waxworms. They only survive a few days and quickly lose weight. So scientists are working to see if feeding them other food, alongside the plastic, will help keep them healthier for longer, allowing them to mow through some more plastic before they become fish food.2

We often hear that planet Earth is doomed because humans are using too many resources and creating too much waste. But we have a good God who loves us and has generously provided for our needs. Instead of despairing over some of the very real problems that we face, like plastic pollution, we should be creative, thinking of how God might have already provided a solution in the things he’s given us.

And we might find that the answers to being a good steward, joyfully caring for God’s amazing creation, are in the most unlikely places!

Footnotes

1. “10 Facts About Single-Use Plastic Bags,” Center for Biological Diversity, accessed September 17, 2025, https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html.
2. Society for Experimental Biology, “These ‘Plastivore’ Caterpillars Can Devour a Plastic Bag in Just 24 Hours,” Science Daily, August 27, 2025, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250827010736.htm.