In a food waste recycling plant in Zhangqiu district in Jinan, Shandong Province, piles of food waste, freshly delivered here from local restaurants and canteens, are waiting to be recycled - by cockroaches².

在山东省济南市章丘区的一间食品垃圾回收工厂里，从当地餐馆和食堂刚送过来的成堆食品垃圾正在等待着被蟑螂回收利用。

After being ground, the food is pumped into glass containers in the plant through a pipe, then devoured³ by millions of cockroaches.

在被磨碎之后，这些食物通过管道输送到工厂里的玻璃容器中，然后由数百万只蟑螂吞食。

For most people, cockroaches are pests that can leave an offensive odor, transmit viruses on their body surfaces and taint⁴ food.

对于大多数人来说，蟑螂是一种可以留下异味、传播身体表面的病毒并且污染食物的虫子。

But Li Yanrong, a entrepreneur from Jinan, has successfully turned them into professional recyclers after spending years studying the notorious insect.

但是来自济南的企业家李延荣，在花费数年时间研究这些臭名昭著的昆虫后，成功地把它们转变为了专业的回收利用者。

At the recycling plant, the roaches feed on 15 tons of food waste every day, more than a third of all food waste generated from Zhangqiu's restaurants and canteens.

在该回收工厂里，蟑螂每天会被喂食15吨的食品垃圾，这一数字超过了章丘当地餐馆和食堂产生的食品垃圾总量的三分之一。

Previously⁵, most of it would have ended up in landfills, causing environmental problems for the areas where they were buried.

在以前，这些垃圾大部分都进了垃圾填埋场，对填埋地区造成了环境问题。

Now, the roaches can not only decompose⁶ the waste leaving little residue⁷, but also turn it into something useful.

如今，蟑螂不仅可以分解垃圾留下微量残留物，而且可以把垃圾转变为有用的东西。

After the cockroaches die, their bodies, known to have high protein and nitrogen levels, will be made into cockroach¹ powder to be used as a protein source for animal feed.

在这些蟑螂死后，它们的身体富含高蛋白和氮，将被制作成蟑螂粉，以作为动物饲料的一种蛋白质来源。

In 2014, there were only 400 kilograms of cockroaches in the plant. In 2015, the number surged to four tons, and this year, it's projected that over 3,000 tons of cockroaches will be produced here.

2014年，工厂里只有400公斤的蟑螂。2015年，这一数字猛涨到4吨，今年计划将有超过3000吨的蟑螂在这里产出。