How insects deal with microplastics
It is 1932 when cartoon hero Tokkie Tor - known from Donald Duck - is brought to life. The six-footed creature lives in Pui Village: a village made of human waste, such as cans, corks, broken coffee cups and microplastics. Yes, you read it correctly: microplastics. Puindorp also needs protection.
How do insects deal with microplastics?
Below the surface of the water lives the tubeworm. This larva of the shooting moth makes small tubes to protect itself from predators. Whereas the larva used to use mainly grains of sand, shells and pebbles, today the tubes consist of as much as 50% microplastics [1]. Pretty sturdy building material, right?
What are the dangers of microplastics?
It may look convenient, those plastic tubes, but harmless it is not. In fact, plastic contains chemicals, which make the plastic more pliable and colorful, but are also harmful to the insects that come into contact with it [2], such as the tube bug, earthworm and woodlouse. Namely, those chemicals cause inflammation, intestinal damage and infertility. And if this is already the case in insects, the consequences for humans and animals are anyone's guess [3].
What can we do about it?
Insect numbers are declining and microplastics are increasing [4]. While this sounds anything but hopeful, salvation for Puindorp may be closer than we think. Researchers have discovered a worm that not only eats plastic, but also completely digests it. If the worm is then accidentally eaten by a bird, the microplastics are not transferred to the bird via the worm [5].
Nevertheless, this worm will not yet be crawling around in our gardens. For that we first have to investigate whether the worms do not break down more than just our plastic waste. After all, we don't want Tokkie Tor to become homeless.
Do you support Tokkie Tor too? Then support the Plastic Soup Foundation. Together we'll make sure that Puindorp continues to exist, but without plastic garbage.
Rynaldo Koerhuis (1995) advises, sells and writes. For Plastic Soup Foundation, he writes a blog twice a month on a current topic.
[1] NOS News, 'Insects use microplastics for protection long before the term existed', June 24, 2025.
[2] C. Barreto, M.C. Rillig, W.R. Waldman and S. Maaß, 'How Soil Invertebrates Deal With Microplastic Contamination', 18 August 2021.
[3] Plastic Soup Foundation, ‘Plastic and health’, 13 december 2024.
[4] Plastic Soup Foundation, ‘Is er een verband tussen de dramatische insectensterfte en microplastics?’ 21 april 2023.
[5] BBC Earth Science, ‘Meet The Plastic-Eating Worms’ 22 april 2023.
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