Biodegradation of plastic by Bacillus megaterium

Abstract

Plastics in the ocean and in landfill are of great concern nowadays due to the problems they pose to the aquatic and terrestrial environment and their living organisms. The increase in the production of plastic leads clearly to its accumulation in the environment while only a very small portion is recycled. The aim of this work is to study the degradation of plastic by B.megaterium. The degradation capability of the B.megaterium was investigated by incubation in mineral medium containing two plastic types under two different conditions for three months. A significant reduce in plastic weight was recorded in both acidic and neutral media, while the average weight loss in brown and transparent plastic was 5.6% and 6% respectively. The results in the present work show that the B.megaterium has the ability to degrade plastic material under both neutral and acidic media, and utilise it as a carbon source.