**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLASTIC POLLUTION HAS BECOME A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM, AND MOST CURRENTLY UTILIZED PLASTICS ARE VIRTUALLY NON-DEGRADABLE AND DIFFICULT TO RECYCLE. IN RECENT YEARS, A NUMBER OF BIODEGRADABLE AND COMPOSTABLE PLASTICS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED, BUT COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING FACILITIES DO NOT WANT TO HANDLE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO BREAK DOWN. AS A RESULT, MANY BUSINESSES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE BUYING BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS IN AN EFFORT TO BE SUSTAINABLE, BUT THEY END UP IN LANDFILLS WHERE THEY DO NOT BREAK DOWN. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION IS A PROMISING STRATEGY FOR TREATING BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS, ESPECIALLY AS PART OF A LARGER ORGANIC WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM. HOWEVER, PRIOR RESEARCH INVOLVING THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF BIOPLASTICS SUGGESTS THAT THEIR DEGRADATION RATE IS SLOWER THAN OTHER SUBSTRATES AND NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED BEFORE THEY BECOME A VIABLE ADDITION TO THESE SYSTEMS. AN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION FACILITY IS BEING PLANNED ON THE OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE SUBSTRATES SUCH AS FOOD WASTE, ANIMAL PRODUCTION WASTE, AND HOPEFULLY PLASTIC WASTE. THE PROPOSED PROJECT INVOLVES THE EVALUATION OF VARIOUS STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE BREAKDOWN OF BIOPLASTICS DURING ANAEROBIC DIGESTION. THE MAIN OBJECTIVES ARE TO EVALUATE POTENTIAL PRETREATMENT STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE THE BREAKDOWN OF BIOPLASTICS DURING ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND TO EVALUATE THE USE OF PHENAZINE TO ENHANCE METHANE PRODUCTION DURING THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF BIOPLASTICS.