Hurray! Plastic Just Passed Away! The Effect of Selected Catalysts on the Rate of Plastic Degradation

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this experiment is to find out which catalyst would degrade plastic pieces fastest between the microorganisms: Bacilli, Cocci, and Spirilla (soil/compost), Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus Thermophilus (yogurt), and Amoxicillin-Penicillin (anti-biotic). Methods/Materials Four two-gallon containers, a Kirkland plastic garbage bag, and a homemade tensile strength measuring device were used for my experiment, in which I put six 6-in x 1/2-in plastic strips (from the Kirkland plastic garbage bag) in each of the four containers with their catalyst and left them how they were for about eight weeks after which I tested their tensile strengths. Results The plastic strips in soil/compost degraded the most at 16%, the plastic strips in yogurt degraded second most at 10%, and the plastic strips in anti-biotic degraded least at 8%. Conclusions/Discussion The bacteria in soil/compost degraded plastic the most (16%), the bacteria in yogurt degraded plastic second most (10%), and anti-biotic degraded plastic the least (8%). The results of this experiment support my hypothesis since the catalysts degraded the plastic strips from fastest to slowest in the order I hypothesized.

Awards (1)

• Honorable Mention

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Microbiology (General) · Entry J1505

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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