Question

Mention the basis of classifying substances as biodegradable or non-biodegradable. Give two examples of each.

Answer 1

Biodegradable and non-biodegradable differentiation:

• The two types of substances are categorized based on their persistence period in the environment or for how long they stay in the environment.
• The persistence of the substance depends upon the abilities of the microorganisms to degrade these substances.
• The biodegradable substances as the name suggests can be decomposed through biological processes whereas non-biodegradable are not decomposed by the natural biological processes.
• The microorganisms can easily break down the biodegradable substance into harmless components and therefore, they will not stay in the environment for a long time.
• Non-biodegradable stay for a long time as they are not decomposed by the decomposers.

Examples:

• Biodegradable: They are usually organic substances like fruit peels, fallen leaves, vegetables.
• Non-biodegradable: The man-made or artificial substances like plastic, polythene, glass.