ASSESSMENT OF BACTERIA STREPTOMYCES TERMITUM WICCB66 AND STREPTOMYCES INDIAENSIS WICCB67 FOR LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE DEGRADATION
Authors:   Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, Dailin Daniel Joe ,   Bioprocess and Polymer engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, Eiwan Sah Amira Nazura ,   Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Bioprocess and Polymer engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, Rithwan Fahim ,   Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Bioprocess and Polymer engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, Wan Azelee Nur Izyan ,   Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Bioprocess and Polymer engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia, Abang Zaidel Dayang Norulfairuz ,   Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur; Innovation Centre in Agritechnology (ICA), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kampus Pagoh, Edu Hub Pagoh, 84600, Pagoh, Johor, Chuah Lai Fatt ,   School of Technology Management and Logistics, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia, Mohd Fuzi Siti Fatimah Zaharah ,   Faculty of Applied Sciences & Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Hab Pendidikan Tinggi Pagoh, KM 1, Jalan Panchor, 84600 Panchor, Johor, Malaysia., El Enshasy Hesham ,   Institute of Bioproduct Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Bioprocess and Polymer engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia; Bioprocess Development Department, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications (CSAT), New Burg Al Arab, Alexandria, Egypt
Published: July 2024

Given its extended earthly persistence and detrimental effects on ecosystems, plastic waste disposal is one of the most concerning problems in the waste management industry. Plastics, which are strong, durable, and lightweight, have a big impact on society all over the world. Most of the waste is dumped, and only 7% of it is recycled. Plastic poses a serious threat to the ecosystem, thus getting rid of it is crucial. Biodegradation is one of the most efficient methods for plastic decomposition when compared to other degradation processes. This is because of the eco-friendly, cost-effective, and non-polluting method. Bacteria are crucial for biodegradation because they act on plastic by secreting a degrading enzyme, which then converts the polymer's high molecular weight into a monomer. The bacteria strain that breaks down plastic was introduced into low density polyethylene (LDPE). Thus, this study is aimed to evaluate and compared the polyethylene plastic degrading bacteria. The LDPE plastic are compared in terms of biomass and weight after incubated with bacteria for 30 days. The bacteria used are Streptomyces termitum WICC-B66 and Streptomyces indiaensis WICC-B67. From the results, both bacteria strain simultaneously grow and then started to decline with time. Moreover, the results shown both bacteria able to degrade LDPE plastic but Streptomyces indiaensis WICC-B67 poses the higher degradability rate with 0.83%. In conclusion, Streptomyces termitum WICC-B66 and Streptomyces indiaensis WICC-B67 were able to degrade LDPE plastic with Streptomyces indiaensis WICC-B67 gave higher degradability rate.