Introduction A plastic material is a manmade organic solid that if used to manufacture products that are used in various industries. Plastics are among the novel materials that have been manufactured and used by man for the last one hundred years or so. Plastics have become important in the current lifestyle because they have gained wide usage. Among the reasons why polymers have gained wide usage is because they are cheaper. Also, their versatility has allowed them to be used in a wide range of application. Their low cost have thus, had lifesaving consequences like in drought-prone regions where plastics have replaced clay containers to enable water to be carried for longer distances. Chemical nature of plastics The essential ingredients of plastics are polymers. A polymer is a chemical substance which has molecules that have the monomeric units repeated in its structure. (Stevens, E., 31). Polymers differ chemically from one another in the types of atom they contain. They also differ in the number of atoms and also in their chemical structure of their molecules. Polymers are mostly composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. In addition, some polymers may also contain chlorine, fluorine, nitrogen, or sulfur atoms. It is also important to note that polymers are organic substances that contain organic elements such as carbon. They may also contain other elements in small quantities that combine with the organic carbon atoms. Degradation of plastics Degradation of plastics is any change that may have a diverse effect on its properties and functions. The chemical and physical changes of a polymer are regarded as the most important factors in degradation of plastics by most industrial polymer chemists (Chiellini, E, & Solaro, R. 69). Degradation may occur during two phases in the life cycle of plastics. During manufacture, plastics are subjected to high temperatures under moulding and extruding. This process provides a good environment for thermal and oxidative degradation (Platt, D. 11). The other way in which plastic degrades is through their use. During use, plastics are exposed to air and moisture, light and heat. This process also known as environmental weathering is responsible for changing the chemistry of the polymers (Shashoua, Y., 151). Figure 1: General mechanism of plastic degradation under aerobic conditions It is important to note that polymer degradation occurs mainly through scission of the main chain or side chains of the same molecule. Naturally, polymer degradation occurs through the thermal activation, hydrolysis, biological activity, oxidation, photolysis or radiolysis (Nampoothiri, M., Nair, N. & John, R. 5). In many cases, polymer degradation is referred to as environmental degradation. There are so many processes that are associated with environmental degradation. These processes may be physical, chemical and biological. It is important to note that environmental factors not only influence polymer degradation but also have a critical role in the determination of microbial population and the activity of the different microorganisms themselves. Environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, pH, salinity, and presence/absence of oxygen and