PLASTIC WASTE: DISPOSAL PRACTICES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

Plastic is a synthetic polymer which finds its use in our everyday life and its production continuous to increase every year due to the massive production and use of different plastic products. It has become a major pollutant of environment. Many traditional methods like UV photo oxidation, Thermal oxidation, Insulation and Land fill which were being practiced earlier are not feasible because they are not environment friendly and costlier. That is why alternative solution for the problem is biodegradation. Microorganism such as bacteria fungi and algae are capable of polythene degradation in its natural habitat. Much of work on biodegradation of plastic has been carried out using bacteria and fungi but very scanty literature is available in this field by using microalgae. That has present prompted us to collect dumped plastic waste from the water bodies of Kota, isolate and identify the microalgae growing on them and to access their biodegrading ability.