Biodegradation of Polymeric Medical Waste by

Hospital solid medical waste is a type of solid waste that is difficult to decompose. It can be concluded as pathogenic waste, which will be dangerous for the environment, if not handled properly. On the other hand, Aspergillus oryzae was reported to be able to degrade pollutants by its enzymatic mechanism. Hence, this study examined A. oryzae fungi as a degrading agent for this solid medical waste in the form of plastic infusion vessels. The plastic infusion vessel waste (3x1 cm2) was treated by A. oryzae in Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB) medium and then incubated for 14, 28, 42, and 56 days. The results showed that medical waste was degraded in amounts of 0.15 mg and 0.2 mg in 14 and 28 days, respectively. At 42 and 56 days of incubation, biomass weighing stagnated and there was no difference, which means that degradation had ended. Furthermore, this medical waste that had been degraded was also analyzed by using SEM and FTIR characterization. SEM images showed different morphological surfaces before and after degradation, a cavity with a random shape was found and indicated a reduction in waste samples. Meanwhile, the FTIR result exhibited the functional groups of infusion vessels. Both of the analyzed treatment samples before and after showed alkene peaks. Therefore, this study demonstrates that A. oryzae can be used as a degrading agent for medical waste. In addition, using A. oryzae as a degradation agent also has the advantage of handling waste in an eco-friendly way.