Determination of polyethylene degradable bacterial strains from plastic wastes dump yard sites

Polythene wastes accumulating in the environment are posing an ever increasing ecological threat. Naturally colonized microorganisms play a vital role in biodegradation of polyethylene, depending on the environmental conditions. This study represents biodegradability of native bacterial strains in the municipal waste landfill sites. Samples from various landfill sites of polyethylene films were collected from Cuddalore district. The morphological characteristics of various colonies of bacteria were observed, the isolated were screened for the biodegradability and were identified using staining, biochemical characterization and 16SrRNA sequencing techniques. Twenty different bacterial strains were isolated among these, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, (37.56 %) recorded maximum weight loss were observed followed by Bacillus sp. (32.70 %), Alcaligens sp. (31.33 %), Bacillus anthracis (26.83 %) and Shigella sonnei (25.30 %) were estimated. Two novel bacteria Bacillus sp and Alcaligens sp. were ultimately degraded polyethylene films and posing important role in polymer degradation.