Objective: This research aims to isolate cellulase-producing microbes from ruminants and investigate their potential for bioremediation of organic wastes, like sanitary napkins. Organic waste management is a critical environmental challenge, and bioremediation offers a sustainable approach for waste treatment. Ruminant animals possess a unique microbial population in their digestive systems that can efficiently degrade cellulose, a major component of sanitary napkins.

Methods: In this study, samples of garden soil, cow dung, buffalo dung, and dumping yard soil were collected and screened for cellulase-producing microbes using Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC) agar medium. Subsequently, the cellulase-producing microbes were employed in the whattman filter paper degradation and their capacity to degrade the cellulose in it by performing a DNSA assay. Furthermore, these isolates were employed in the bioremediation process to degrade sanitary napkins. Thereafter, we prepared various consortia of the isolates to check if it led to better degradation of sanitary napkins.

Results: The results demonstrated the successful isolation of cellulase-producing microbes from all the samples using CMC agar medium and were labeled as Isolates 1, 2, 3, 4, G, and D. In the filter paper degradation assay, isolate 3 produced the highest amount of reducing sugar from 0.1 g of cellulose, followed by isolate G, indicating the highest cellulase or FPase activity among all isolates. Additionally, these isolates exhibited promising potential for the degradation of sanitary napkins. Tube with isolate 3 had the highest concentration of reducing sugar and the lowest dry weight of sanitary napkin, followed by isolate G. Isolates 3 and G showed promising results as compared to the other isolates, but isolated 3 had an antagonistic effect when it was used with other isolates in the consortium. In contrast, isolate G showed synergistic effects in the consortium, and G+D showed the highest degradation of sanitary napkins.

Conclusion: This research contributes a microbial-based bioremediation approach to the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly strategies for waste management.