The present study deals with the isolation, identification and degradative ability of plastic degrading microorganisms from soil. Different types of changes are produced by the microorganism during morphological and biochemical analysis. The biodegradation of polythene bag was analyzed two weeks of incubation in liquid culture method. The microbial species found associated with the degrading materials were identified as two Gram positive bacteria’s. The microbial species associated with the polythene materials were identified as Bacillus sp and Bacillus horikoshii. The efficacy of microbes in the degradation of polyethylene were analyzed in liquid (shaker) culture method, among the bacteria Bacillus horikoshii degrades polyethylene more in two weeks (29% weight loss/ two weeks) period compared to others and lowest degradation rate was observed in case of Bacillus sp (14% weight loss/ two weeks). This work reveals that Bacillus horikoshii possess greater potential to degrade plastics when compared with other bacteria.
