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9

Biodegradation of Plastics by Microorganisms

Md. Anisur R. Mazumder¹, Md. Fahad Jubayer², and Thottiam V. Ranganathan³

1Bangladesh Agricultural University, Department of Food Technology and Rural Industries, Mymensingh,

2202, Bangladesh

2Sylhet Agricultural University, Department of Food Engineering and Technology, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh

3School of Agriculture and Bioscience, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Department of Food

Processing Technology, Coimbatore, 641114, Tamil Nadu, India

9.1

Introduction

Biodegradation is a biologically catalyzed mechanism where, before transferring to

the environment, the carbon-based material goes through a transition from complex

modules into smaller substances. This process is often accomplished with the assis-

tance of living organisms like bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Such organisms perform

the task of breaking the matter up into new objects. In certain contexts, however,

biodegradation is frequently used to designate most of the biologically induced alter-

ation in the substrate. It is therefore very important to understand the processes of

biodegradation very clearly and the microorganisms that carry out the entire process.

Due to the remarkable lightness, durability, and low-cost properties, plastics

have been widely used as a substitute material for paper, wood, and metal for

various applications over the last 50 years. Use of plastic materials in every area

of life and development has been growing every year. Composition wise, plastics

are high-molecular-weight compounds of natural or synthetic origin. From 1950

to 2019, the overall amount of plastics production was 8100 Mt. worldwide, with

an increase of around 230% during this time. In 2013 alone, 56 Mt. of polyethylene

terephthalate (PET) was produced [1]. Plastic materials have been an environmental

catastrophe and one of the most persistent pollutants due to their wide variety of

use as well as challenging degradation properties. Plastic wastes are one of the

chief environmental pollutants. They enter all habitats and ecotypes, when they

get released into the environment. The world’s capacity to deal with them is being

overwhelmed by the growing production of disposable plastic goods. This pollution

can harm and affect human, wildlife, and wildlife habitat adversely. Moreover,

plastic contamination can damage soil, rivers, and oceans. Plastic pollution at sea

is a global problem and has a concentration of about 580 000 plastic parts/km² in

everywhere and the entire ocean [2]. Animals living inside the sea and outside of

Biotechnology for Zero Waste: Emerging Waste Management Techniques, First Edition.

Edited by Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain and Ravi Kumar Kadeppagari.

© 2022 WILEY-VCH GmbH. Published 2022 by WILEY-VCH GmbH.