Biodegradation of municipal plastic wastes collected from solid waste landfills of Jammu, India

Abstract Plastics are non-biodegradable, strong, durable, moisture resistant, light weight polymers of carbon along with hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, and other organic and inorganic elements and are manufactured from fossil fuel which is a non-renewable source. Low density polyethylene is the most commonly occurring non-biodegradable waste material which constitutes approximately 60% of the total plastic production. In the present study, an attempt has been made to isolate, screen, and characterize the most efficient polyethylene degrading bacteria by using partially degraded polyethylene samples with adhered soil collected from two municipal waste dumping grounds of Jammu region. A total of 62 bacterial isolates were obtained from different waste disposal sites were screened on synthetic Medium. Low density polyethylene powder was used as the sole carbon source in synthetic medium. The biodegradation activity of the isolates was investigated based on the percent weight loss and percent loss in tensile strength of the polyethylene. Maximum percent weight loss (%WL; 22.66) was recorded with MB57 after 2 months of shaking at room temperature. Maximum percent loss in tensile strength (% loss in TS; 74.35) was documented MB57. Further, the level of degradation was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. In SEM analysis, scions/ crakes were found on the surface of the degraded polyethylene.