Table 2.

Bacteria used in biodegradation studies of polyethylene (PE) degradation. The bacteria are listed alphabetically by genus.

Genus (and Species)	Source	Experiment Duration	Experiment Condition	Biodegradation Result	Reference
Acinetobacter bumannii	Municipal landfill	30 days	37 °C Non-pretreated PE	Biomass production	[42]
Arthobacter defluvii	Dumped soil area	1 month	PE bags	20%–30% W.L. *	[48]
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Bacillussubtilis
Bacillus pumilus Bacillus subtillis	Pelagic waters	30 days	PE bags	1.5%–1.75% W.L.	[2]
Bacillus ssp.	Waste coal, a forest and an extinct volcano crater	225 days	Modified PE	Reduction of mechanical properties by 98% No W.L. detected	[29]
Bacillus sphericus	Shallow waters of ocean	1 year	HDPE and LDPE; Untreated and Heat treated	3.5% and 10% 9% and 19%	[43]
Bacillus megaterium Bacillus subtilis Bacillus cereus (MIX together)	Soil	90 days	45 °C photo-degraded oxobiodegradable PE	7%–10% mineralization	[31]
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens	Solid waste dumped	60 days	LDPE	11%–16%	[49]
Bacillus subtilis	MCC No. 2183	30 days	Adding Biosurfactant Unpretreated 18 μm thickness PE	9.26% W.L.	[50]
Bacillus pumilus M27 Bacillus subtilis H1584	Pelagic waters	30 days	PE bags	1.5–1.75 W.L. %	[2]
Brevibacillus borstelensis	DSMZ	90 days	50 °C Irradiated LDPE	17% W.L.	[51]
Brevibacillus	Waste disposal site	3 weeks	Pretreated PE	37.5% W.L.	[41]
Chryseobacterium gleum	Waste water activated sludge soil	1 month	UV-radiated LLDPE	-	[44]
Comamonas sp.	Plastic debris in soil	90 days	Non-treated LDPE	Changing in chemical properties	[8]
Delftia sp.	Plastic debris in soil	90 days	Non-treated LDPE	Changing in chemical properties	[8]
Kocuria palustris M16,	Pelagic waters	30 days	PE bags	1%	[2]
Microbacterium paraoxydans	Having Gene bank ID	2 months	Pretreated LDPE	61% W.L.	[52]
Pseudomonas sp.	Mangrove soil	1 month	PE	20.54% W.L.	[30]
Pseudomonas aeroginosa	Petroleum contaminated beach soil	80 days	LMWPE	40.8% W.L.	[45]
Pseudomonas sp.	Beach soil contaminated with crude oil	80 days	37 °C LMWPE	4.9%–28.6% CO2 production	[46]
Pseudomonas sp.	Garbage soil	6 months	PE bags	37.09% W.L.	[34]
Pseudomonas citronellolis	Municipal Landfill	4 days	LDPE	17.8% W.L.	[38]
Pseudomonas sp.	Having Gene bank ID	2 months	Pretreated LDPE	50.5% W.L.	[52]
Pseudomonas aeroginosa Pseudomonas putida Pseudomonas siringae	ATCC	120 days	Untreated PE	9%–20%	[53]
Pseudomonas sp.	Waste disposal site	3 weeks	Pretreated PE	40.5% W.L.	[41]
Rhodococcus ruber	PE agricultural waste in soil	4 weeks	Treated LDPE	Up to 8% W.L.	[36]
Rhodococcus ruber	PE agricultural waste in soil	60 days	LDPE	0.86% W.L./week	[54]
Rhodococcus ruber	PE agricultural waste in soil	30 days	LDPE	1.5%–2.5% W.L. Reduction of 20%.in Mw and 15%.in Mn	[55]
Rhodococcus rhorocuros	ATCC	6 months	27 °C Degradable PE	60% mineralization	[56]
Rhodococcus rhorocuros	ATCC 29672	6 month	PE containing prooxidant additives	Different amount of mineralization	[57]
Rhodococcus sp.	Waste disposal site	3 weeks	Pretreated PE	33% W.L.	[41]
Rhodococcus sp.	Three forest soil	30 days	LDPE containing prooxidant additives	Confirmation of Adhering	[35]
Staphylococcus arlettae	Various soil environments	30 days	PE	13.6% W.L.	[32]
Stentrophomonas sp.	Plastic debris in soil	90 days	Non-treated LDPE	Changing in chemical properties	[8]
Stentrophomonas pavanii	Solid waste dump site	56 days	Modified LDPE	Confirmed by FTIR	[40]
Streptomyces spp.	Nile River Delta	1 month	30 °C Heat treated degradable PE bags	3 species showed slight W.L.	[58]

* W.L., Weight loss report as %.