Bees Produce Biodegradable Polymer Similar to Polyethylene

Researchers from Virginia Tech and the University of Tennessee have found that a waterproof material resembling cellophane, used by American ground bees of the species Colletes inaequalis to line their nests, is a natural polymer closely related to polyethylene. This discovery was reported in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences". The material biodegrades quickly in soil, with polymer content in soil samples dropping from 73% to 40% within just four months.

Biodegradable Material

Jonathan Coote, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, believes this substance could pave the way for more sustainable solutions to mitigate the ecological impact of the continuous production of millions of tons of polyethylene. Coote plans to investigate the production process of the bee polymer, aiming to develop similar biodegradable materials through reverse engineering.

"The goal is to understand the structure of this material and then use it to create a substance that can be produced on a large scale," Coote explained, noting that the industry could mimic this process rather than relying solely on bees.

Conventional polyethylene accounts for about one-third of global plastic production, nearly 160 million tons annually. This material can persist in the environment for centuries and, even after breaking down, remains in the form of microplastics that infiltrate groundwater and spread throughout ecosystems. Many plastics marketed as biodegradable decompose very slowly or require specific industrial conditions for degradation.