Biodegradation of plastics by a novel microorganism isolated from the working area of a plastic recycling company in Gebze, Kocaeli, Türkiye

Plastics have become a major environmental concern today, primarily due to their extensive use and the subsequent inability to be effectively recycled. Conventional recycling methods for plastics have been shown to be both inefficient and environmentally detrimental. As a result, research is ongoing to develop more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of degrading plastics. In the present study, a microorganism capable of using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a carbon and energy source was isolated by screening of contaminated water, soil and plastic samples collected from the working area of Atıksan Recycling Company. The isolate showed optimal growth at 25 °C and under daylight conditions, and was found to be capable of forming biofilm. It was shown to efficiently metabolise low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene (PE) and acetate polymers. Following a one-month incubation period in minimal medium, a weight loss of 2.75% was observed for LDPE, 6.15% for PE, and 6.97% for acetate polymer. The biodegradation of the plastics was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. Genomic DNA analysis identified the microorganism as Trichoderma citrinoviride. The novel isolate, which has the potential for plastics the recycling, has been submitted to GenBank under accession number JBNPOX000000000. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the plastic biodegradation capacity of T. citrinoviride.