DEGRADATION OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC IN AEROBIC COMPOSTING BY UTILIZING ISOLATED BACTERIAL CULTURE

• Main Author: MUJAHIDAH (NIM: 15312009), HURRIYAH
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/27892
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

<p align="justify"> Biodegradable plastic, or plastic made from materials easily degraded biologically like starch and cellulose offers a more environmentally friendly alternative opposed to conventional plastic. Prior research has shown that a certain type of starch and polyethelene based plastic is biodegradable in aerobic compost media. This research aims to observe the degradation level of said plastic in aerobic compost by utlizing cultures of bacteria isolates. This research uses two variations of compost based on the starter used. The first starter was a strain of pure Bacillus sphaeericus culture and the second compost was a consortium of Bacillus sphaeericus, Bacillus substilis, Bacillus lentus, Erwinia herbicola, Cedecea davisae and Staphylacoccus gallinarium. The compost was processed for 11 weeks referring to ASTM D6400. Physical and chemical characteristics were monitored during the composting process to observe the changes in compost condition during processing and the reduction of plastic mass was measured as a representative of plastic biodegradation.By the end of the processing duration, compost has yet to reach maturity. Plastic reduction reached 21.53% in the first compost and 16.89% in the second compost.The rate of degradation is then formulated to calculate the degradation of the sample.<p align="justify">