Doggedness of polypropylene flake in the environment is known to cause detrimental effects on the biota. The present study reports the role of Pseudomonas sp. and Actinomycetes sp., as possible candidates for biodegradation of polypropylene flake (straw). Pre-treatment of polypropylene flakes with UV, heat and HNO3, resulted in cracking ,granules and roughness of polypropylene surface as evinced by SEM images. It was motivating to observe that UV, heat, and HNO3 treated polypropylene flake on inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. and Actinomycetes sp., lead to crystal formation. Further, the polypropylene flake degradation was confirmed by FTIR studies, which indicated the formation of aromatic ether , hydroxyl groups and ester groups as evinced in UV ; heat ; HNO3 ; UV, heat and HNO3 treated polypropylene flakes.
