Published Paper Details:

Plastic/polyethylene are synthetic or human made polymers. Due to its hydrophobic backbone and complex structure it is non-biodegradable and inert in nature. The vital features of plastics that make them suitable for the production in wide range of products are lightweight, durability, strength. The ever-increasing demand has led to a large-scale production that resulted in accumulation of plastics in hazardous quantities at breakneck speed in waste disposal. Plastics being non-biodegradable accumulate on the surface and persist for centuries causing a disruption in the normal soil, marine ecology thus encouraging research in development of effective and eco-friendly biodegradation materials. In biological degradation, organic polymer substances like plastics are cracked down by living microorganism. In the recent years, certain strains of microorganisms have been isolated and studied by scientists all over the world to identify their plastic degrading capacity. Particular strains of bacteria and fungi have proved to have the most efficient degrading capacity among other microorganisms. Here in this study, we have analysed the studies conducted on various strains of bacteria like Brevibaccillus borstelensis, Genus pseudomonas, B.licheniformis and fungi strains like Aspergillus japonicus regarding their plastic degradation capacity. The studies were analyzed for their isolation processes, methodology/process of degradation and their proof of efficacy. Detailed summary of the most proficient microorganisms with their plastic degrading methods have been provided in this paper. The key benefits of using microorganisms for degrading plastics are it causes no harmful side effects as it is a completely natural process, can be carried out in situ, therefore no transportation and due to its organic process, therefore is well accepted by the public.