Insect farming: A bioeconomy-based opportunity to revalorize plastic wastes

Abstract

Managing plastic waste is one of the greatest challenges humanity faces in the coming years. Current strategies—landfilling, incineration, and recycling—remain insufficient or pose significant environmental concerns, failing to address the growing volume of plastic residues discharged into the environment. Recently, increasing attention has focused on the potential of certain insect larvae species to chew, consume, and partially biodegrade synthetic polymers such as polystyrene and polyethylene, offering novel biotechnological opportunities for plastic waste management. However, insect-assisted plastic depolymerization is incomplete, leaving significant amounts of microplastics in the frass (or manure), limiting its use as a soil amendment. In this perspective, we propose a novel two-step bioconversion system to overcome these limitations, using insects to sustainably manage plastic waste while revalorizing its by-products (frass). The first step involves pyrolyzing microplastic-containing frass from mealworms (Tenebrio molitor larvae) fed on plastic-rich diets to produce biochar with enhanced adsorptive properties. The second stage integrates this biochar into the entomocomposting of organic residues, such as food waste, using black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae to produce nutrient-rich substrates enriched with carbon and nitrogen. This integrated system offers a potential framework for large-scale industrial applications, contributing to the bioeconomy by addressing both plastic waste and organic residue management. We critically examine the advantages and limitations of the proposed system based on current literature on biochar technology and entomocomposting. Key challenges and research opportunities are identified, particularly concerning the physiological and toxicological processes involved, to guide future efforts aimed at ensuring the scalability and sustainability of this innovative approach.