With the increased production of municipal solid waste by the disposal of plastic materials, there is a
need to develop new biodegradable materials and biodegrade existing plastic materials in daily use.
Polystyrene and expanded polystyrene are commodity plastics that are extensively used in packaging
and other applications. Six bacterial isolates were isolated from soil buried expanded polystyrene films
showing adherence and growth with the polystyrene as a sole carbon source. Scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) of the film surface used for isolation showed extensive microbial growth. The
preliminary screening of biodegradation capability was done by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy for surface chemical changes and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) for
analysis of biodegradation products. Bacterial isolates NA26, NB6, NB26 showed the production of
biodegradation products in the extracellular media indicating biodegradation process.