The efficacy of newly isolated Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains to degrade brominated High Impact
Polystyrene (HIPS) was investigated. Viability of these cultures while using e-plastic as sole carbon source
was validated through Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride (TTC). Four days incubation of HIPS emulsion with
Bacillus spp. showed 94% reduction in turbidity and was 97% with Pseudomonas spp. Confirmation of
degradation was concluded by HPLC, NMR, FTIR, TGA and weight loss analysis. NMR spectra of the
degraded film revealed the formation of aliphatic carbon chain with bromine and its release. FTIR analysis
of the samples showed a reduction in CAH, C@O and C@N groups. Surface changes in the brominated
HIPS film was visualized through SEM analysis. Degradation with Bacillus spp. showed a weight loss of
23% (w/w) of HIPS film in 30 days