Bioplastics

In order to address the plastic environmental pollution, biodegradable plastics are accepted as an acceptable environmental solution. Even if their degradation has been attested into industrial compost conditions, only few studies have been undertaken to unravel their biodegradation in marine environment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the degradability of commodity plastics considered as compostable and not-compostable, in natural marine environment in the Mediterranean Sea and to dress the profile of the bacterial communities developing on these plastics. A better understanding of the bacterial community colonizing these plastics is essential for an eco-design of new biodegradable polymers. In this context, commercial polymers were submerged during 82 days into the sea on the sediment and into the water column. By combining chemical and genomic approaches, we demonstrated that the sample position influences the plastic degradation process and the composition of the colonizing bacterial community. Low degradation signs were observed on the biodegradable plastics and LDPE in the water column. Moreover, Marinomonas genus selected in enrichment culture seems to be involved in the degradation of PBAT. This study provides new insights on the bacterial colonization of these polymers as well as on the degradation process of plastics in marine environment.