Question

Give reasons for the following :
(a) Broken glass utensils are a kind of non-degradable waste.
(b) Landfills are coming up fast near large cities.
(c) Why is municipal sewage first separated into degradable and non-degradable wastes?

Answer 1

(a)Biodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be degraded by other living organisms. Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms is called non-biodegradable.

• 1)Broken glass utensils cannot be broken down by other living organisms. Hence Broken glass utensils are a kind of non-degradable waste.
• 2)Other examples for non-biodegradable wastes include rubber tires, man-made fibers like nylon, Plastic products like grocery bags, plastic bags, water bottles, etc.

(b)A landfill site (also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump or dumping ground and historically as a midden) is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial.

landfills are coming up fast near large cities because:

• 1)due to urbanization, large cities tend to produce more waste.
• 2)most of the waste is inorganic.
• 3)this organized way of disposal will prevent pollution.

(c)Biodegradable waste is a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be degraded by other living organisms. Waste that cannot be broken down by other living organisms is called non-biodegradable.

• Municipal sewage is separated into degradable and non-degradable wastes as because degradable wastes can be biologically degraded or decomposed or dump into pits or yards so that it can help to increase the fertility of the soil and used by the plants.