Glasswares: Equipments: Materials

Petri dish Autoclave Cotton buds

Test tube Laminar flow Gauze
Erlenmeyer flask Vortex Masking tape
Beaker Incubator Match
Inoculating loop Digital balance Cotton
Alcohol lamp Analytical balance Scratch papers
Test tube rack Hotplate Aluminum foil
Magnetic stirrer Binocular microscope Dishwashing liquid
Stirring rod Antibacterial soap
Spatula Sterilized mask
Glass slides 20ml Distilled water
Surgical gloves

Table 1: Microbial Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate Films

Soil Days of Pre- Microbial Percentage

Treatment treatment Degradation (% weight
(Incubation) (Final Weight Loss) loss)
T1 T2 T3

S1 7 days 0.615g 0.329g 0.327g 0.321g 46%

S2 14 days 0.755g 0.281g 0.281g 0.283g 62%

S3 14 days 0.704g 0.425g 0.425g 0.417 39%

Results and Discussion
The most abundant microbes in the soil are bacteria. There are different species of bacteria that can
contribute in degradation of plastics. Some of these species are Bacillus subtilis, Azotobacter,
Pseudomonas sp., Rhizobium sp. And Actinomycetes, that are the most widely distributed group of
microorganisms in nature which primarily inhabit the soil. Many of them are known to have the
capacity to degrade plastic materials and synthesis bioactive secondary metabolites which include
enzymes, herbicides, pesticides and antibiotics.

The pre-treatment and final dry weight of polyethylene terephthalate films before and after incubation
period in the culture medium were compared and the % of degradation was calculated. The
microorganisms present in the three soils were observed to be capable of biodegrading polyethylene
terephthalate films. It is shown in the table 1 that the microbial degradation ability of bacteria isolated
from soil sample 2 has the highest percentage, having 62% weight loss. While soil 1 and 3 got 46 and
39% degradation loss.

_____________________________
Aza Freya Lan A. Tubato
Research Assistant

Noted by:

_________________________
Ramon P. Luber DVM, MSc
Chairperson