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Obviously, this population cannot increaae forever. At some point, the food source will be depleted, or. some other change in the environment will cause the population to level off or. decrease. These changes could be pH, temperature, or. oxygen content of the environment. The introduction o ,,poisons to the environment may have negative effects on the population, as well as competition from other types of bacteria. For waste digestion, we can identify several . beneficial.. , characteristics that we want our bacteria to - have . They must- 1 . Consume (digest)- organic waste. ckly and completely, without causing 2 . Digest waste qui odors or noxious gas .`. . 3 . NOT cause disease in man or animals : (non-.pathogenic) 4 . Grow and reproduce readily in the environmental conditions of organic waste. These bacteria can be further separated. into aerobic types, which require oxygen to live, and anaerobic, which can live without oxygen. Facultative types can .thrive under either aerobic and anaerobic conditions . Certain bacteria belonging tothe Bacillus species have these desirable characteristics They consume organic waste thousands of times faster than- the types of bacteria that are naturally present in the waste. They grow and reproduce easily, - are . non-pathogenic, i and do not produce foul odors or gas . . These "good" bacteria are grown- (cultured) on a liquid of dry . (nutrient medium) food. These cultured . bacteria are- then freeze dried to put them in a state of suspension. They remain alive, ready to swim, eat, and reproduce as soon as they are reactivated (rehydrated) and put into the proper -environment. The proper environment to induce. rapid growth and reproduction of these good bacteria must have: 1 . A water medium containing food (organic waste) for them to eat. 2 . Dissolved oxygen in sufficient quantities for the aerobic types that require it . 3 . The proper Ph - not ,to acidic nor to alkaline - between 6 and 9 on the pH scale 4 . Moderate temperatures', ,between 50 and 100 degrees F. Enzymes What is an enzyme, and how does : it aid .digestion7 An enzyme. ,. is a chemical catalyst that breaks up= long, complex waste molecules into smaller, simpler pieces . The smaller, broken up pieces can be digested directly by the bacteria .. Enzymes are not living. -,things, and - they cannot, grow or . reproduce themselves . They are chemicals that are manufactured and used by bacteria in order to digest vaste. When added to the Chemical organic waste, enzymes immediately go to work breaking down the waste . The large complex molecules are chemically broken into smaller', simpler pieces . The bacteria are able to consume these fragment's immediately, so they now have a plentiful supply of "prepared" - food waitifig for them.