Plastic is piling up in ecosystems all over the world, not just oceans and lakes. Its harmful effects on wildlife have been widely documented, but a few animals—like bowerbirds and hermit crabs—are doing what they can to recycle it. And according to a study, wild bees in Canada have joined the effort.

 These tiny insects can’t recycle nearly enough plastic to put a significant dent (印痕) in the problem. Still, their resourceful use of plastic indicates how widespread plastic pollution has become, and how some wildlife is adapting to it.

 One of the bees they studied, the alfalfa leafcutter, normally bites off pieces of leaves and flowers to make its nests. But the researchers found that three of eight brood  cells contained pieces of plastic bags, replacing 23 percent of the cut leaves in each cell on average.

In a separate study conducted in Argentina between  , researchers found a nest made entirely of plastic which is the first known example of such construction worldwide.