The present study was proposed with the idea to screen and isolate efficient low-density polyethylene (LDPE) degrading novel bacterial strains from the plastic-contaminated dumping site. The identification of the bacterial isolate was performed with the help of microbiological and molecular characterization approaches. The screening of the best isolate was performed based on its growth in Bushnell-Hass broth supplemented with LDPE sheets as the sole carbon source. The molecular characterization revealed that the isolate WD4 showed a similarity with the Pseudomonas aeruginosa species. A comparative analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa WD4 identified in the current study with Pseudomonas putida MTCC 2445 strain was performed. The present study demonstrated that the bacterial isolate showed 9.2% degradation of LDPE films while Pseudomonas putida revealed a 6.5% weight reduction after 100 days of incubation at 37 °C. The end products of the LDPE degradation were analysed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The LDPE degradation products eluted include fatty acids such as octadecanoic, hexadecanoic acid, dodecanal, and octyl palmitoleate, alkanes, and some of the unknown compounds after 100 days of microbial treatment with the isolated strain. The detailed analysis of the by-products generated in the current study indicates their contribution to the biochemical pathway of LDPE degradation. The profound scope lies in the scalability of these bacterial strains at the industrial level to combat the LDPE waste and similar plastic garbage problems, globally.

本研究的目的是从塑料污染的倾倒场中筛选和分离高效低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）降解新型菌株。细菌分离株的鉴定是在微生物学和分子表征方法的帮助下进行的。最佳分离株的筛选是基于其在补充有 LDPE 片作为唯一碳源的 Bushnell-Hass 肉汤中的生长情况进行的。分子表征显示分离株 WD4 与铜绿假单胞菌物种相似。对本研究中鉴定的铜绿假单胞菌WD4 与恶臭假单胞菌MTCC 2445 菌株进行了比较分析。本研究表明，细菌分离物显示 LDPE 薄膜降解 9.2%，而恶臭假单胞菌在 37°C 孵育 100 天后重量减少 6.5%。使用傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 和气相色谱-质谱 (GC-MS) 分析 LDPE 降解的最终产物。用分离菌株进行微生物处理 100 天后，洗脱的 LDPE 降解产物包括十八烷酸、十六烷酸、十二醛和棕榈油酸辛酯等脂肪酸、烷烃和一些未知化合物。对当前研究中产生的副产物的详细分析表明它们对 LDPE 降解的生化途径的贡献。其深远的影响在于这些细菌菌株在工业层面上的可扩展性，以应对全球范围内的 LDPE 废物和类似的塑料垃圾问题。