BIODEGRADABILITY TEST OF ECO-FRIENDLY PLASTIC BY TENEBRIO MOLITOR LARVAE AND EM4 BIOACTIVATOR

• Main Author: Nur Amaliah, Fika
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik saniter dan perkotaan; teknik perlindungan lingkungan
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/87015
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Eco-friendly plastics, such as starch-based plastics, PLA (Polylactic Acid), and oxodegradable plastics, have been developed to reduce environmental pollution. This study aims to evaluate the biodegradation of these plastics by T. molitor larvae and EM4 microorganisms by observing organism growth, plastic weight reduction, biodegradation rates, and their impact on residue quality. The results showed that the addition of plastics to organic substrates affected the growth rate of the larvae. The highest plastic weight reduction by T. molitor larvae was observed in starchbased plastics at 5.01%, followed by oxodegradable plastics at 0.15% and PLA at 0.1%. Meanwhile, EM4 microorganisms reduced the weight of starch-based plastics by 2.79%, PLA by 0.22%, and oxodegradable plastics by 0.17%. Statistical tests indicated no significant difference in biodegradation efficiency between these two agents, but larvae were more effective on starch-based plastics. The biodegradation rate of starch-based plastics by larvae decreased by 0.0075/week, while PLA and oxodegradable plastics decreased by 0.0001/week each. For EM4 microorganisms, the biodegradation rate of starch-based plastics decreased by 0.0039/week, PLA by 0.0003/week, and oxodegradable plastics by 0.0002/week. These findings indicate that starch-based plastics are more easily degraded compared to PLA and oxodegradable plastics. Additionally, the presence of plastics influenced residue quality, including moisture content, C/N ratio, and phosphate levels. PLA and oxodegradable plastics were more challenging to degrade into safe compounds compared to starch-based plastics. This study highlights the potential of T. molitor larvae and EM4 microorganisms as biodegradation agents for environmentally friendly plastics, particularly starch-based plastics. However,PLA and oxodegradable plastics require innovative approaches to improve their degradation efficiency. These findings are expected to support environmentally friendly plastic waste management and sustainable development.