The pollutants that cannot be broken down to simple and harmless products

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Solution

There are different types of pollutants which are categorized on the basis of degradability. The non-biodegradable pollutants are the pollutants which cannot be degraded easily. They cannot be degraded by the activities of the microorganisms. These pollutants are not converted to simpler compounds by the microbial degradation. Whereas the biodegradable products are decomposed by the microbes.

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Similar questions

Metallic cans and glass products can be broken down by microorganisms into harmless non-toxic substances.

Soaps and detergents that can be easily broken down by bacteria in the environment to form harmless substances are termed as:

	Biodegradable pollutants	Non-biodegradable pollutants
(i)	These are the pollutants that can be easily degraded by micro-organisms.	These are the pollutants that can not be degraded into harmless materials.
(ii)	These can be used to produce energy (through biogas), compost, manure, etc.	These are difficult to manage as a natural method of degradation is absent.
(iii)	These usually do not enter biogeochemical cycles.	These become a part of rapid turnover in biogeochemical cycles.
(iv)	Examples: DDT, BHC, plastics, polyethylene, glass, etc.	Examples: Sewage, garbage, animal waste, etc.

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