A Study On The High Density Polyethylene Degrading Ability Of Fungal Isolates From The Garbage Dumping Site At Thanjavur

Abstract

Plastic is a broad name given to different polymers having high molecular weight and that can be degraded by various processes. However, degradation by physical and chemical means leads to innumerable environmental hazards. On the other hand, degradation of plastics by microorganisms seems to be more effective, considering their abundance in the environment, their specificity in attacking plastics and has very less environmental hazards. Plastic and polythene waste accumulating in the environment are posing an ever increasing ecological threat. Municipal solid waste contains high amounts of cellulose, which is an ideal organic waste for the growth of most of microorganism as well as composting by potential microbes. The observed results presented that A. flavus could be used as a potential biodegradable agent for plastic materials.