Degradation of polythene with bacterial isolates of rhizosphere of avicennia marina (forsk.) vierh., based on percent weight loss

Due to high durability, cheap cost and ease of manufacture, billion tons of plastic based products are manufactured, which leads to generation of millions tons of plastic waste annually around the globe. Of the total plastic waste, polythene shared 64%. The plastic waste finally enters into the sea through different water bodies and leads to deaths of million sea animals. Among the various methods used to dispose plastic waste, biodegradation is considered as the most accepted, ecofriendly and cost effective method. In the present study, rhizosphere soil of Avicennia marina was collected from Vashi, Maharashtra, India. Total numbers of bacterial isolates recorded from the rhizosphere soil were 22 only. Screening of polythene degradation was carried out based on percent weight loss (% WL) after 4 months of regular shaking at room temperature. After 4 months period maximum % WL (10.63±0.77%) was recorded with VASB10 at pH 7. The characterization of polythene degrading bacteria is under progress.