Plastic pollution remains a critical environmental challenge due to the recalcitrant nature of synthetic polymers. This study aimed to isolate and identify indigenous bacterial strains capable of degrading plastics from three dumping sites in Surat, Gujarat: Khajod (Site-1 PDBK-3, PDBK-5, PDBKC-14, PDBA-15, and PDBA-18 showed significant degradation capabilities. Isolate PDBA-15 (Pseudomonas sp.) emerged as the most potent isolate, representing a weight loss of 8.70%. Morphological and biochemical characterization identified these potential degraders as species of Klebsiella, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Proteus. These findings suggest that indigenous landfill bacteria possess significant potential for the bioremediation of plastic waste.
Padmshree Patel1*, Avani Shah2, Dolly Tiwari3 (Fri,) studied this question.