Isolation and characterization of bioplastic-degrading bacteria from nutmeg plantation land

Excessive use of plastic in life can result in the accumulation of plastic waste that endangers the environment. Plastics are made from fossil fuels, coal, petroleum, and natural gas, which make plastic properties difficult to degrade. The application of bioplastics can overcome this problem because it comes from organic materials such as starch, cellulose, and lignin that can be decomposed. Bioplastics have the same functional quality as conventional plastics and are environmentally friendly because they can be degraded with the help of soil bacteria without producing toxic compounds. This study aimed to detect and determine the biodegradation potential of bioplastics by bacterial isolates obtained from the nutmeg plantation soil of West Seram Regency, Maluku, Indonesia. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD). Nutmeg plantation soil samples were taken from 5 different points, which were given 3 treatments on soil weight, namely P1, P2, and P3, as well as control using a mixture of 5 points of soil samples and adding Pseudomonas putida. There were 6 isolates characterized as having similarities with the genus Pseudomonas and Bacillus from nutmeg plantation soil samples. The percentage of biodegradation of genus Pseudomonas from isolates S1I2.1 was 40.02%, S2I2.2 of 48.08%, S2I1.1 of 65.41%. While genus Bacillus from isolate S1I2.1 showed a biodegradation value of 63.83%, followed by isolates S2I3.1 of 58.37%, and S3I2.1 of 55.48%. In conclusion, bacteria isolated from nutmeg plantation soil are known to have the potential to degrade bioplastics as seen from their ability to reduce plastic contained in investigated samples.