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Which of the following is considered a non-biodegradable waste?
Plastic bottles
Vegetable peels
Cow dung
Paper
Plastic bottles
Non-biodegradable waste consists of substances that cannot be broken down by biological processes, such as the action of bacteria or fungi. Plastic bottles, primarily composed of polymers like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Non-biodegradable waste consists of substances that cannot be broken down by biological processes, such as the action of bacteria or fungi. Plastic bottles, primarily composed of polymers like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Think of biodegradable waste like a compost pile where food scraps disappear into soil, while plastic bottles are like indestructible stone statues that stay unchanged regardless of rain or soil activity.
P.M.G (Plastic, Metal, Glass) are the 'Permanent' Garbage group.
Polymerization:n(C2тАЛH4тАЛ)тЖТтИТ(CH2тАЛтИТCH2тАЛ)nтАЛтИТ
Biodegradation involves the enzymatic breakdown of organic materials into simpler inorganic compounds like CO2тАЛ, H2тАЛO, and biomass. Microorganisms lack the specific enzymes required to break the strong covalent carbon-carbon bonds found in synthetic polymers like plastics. Consequently, these materials accumulate in landfills and oceans rather than returning to the natural nutrient cycle.
Biodegradable wastes undergo mineralization into nutrients.
Non-biodegradable wastes cause long-term soil and water pollution.
Microplastics are a dangerous derivative of large plastic waste.
The process of breaking down plastics is purely physical (photodegradation) rather than biological.
Plastics are lightweight, durable, and chemically inert for packaging.
Non-biodegradability leads to bioaccumulation in food chains.
Massive accumulation in oceans creates 'Great Pacific Garbage Patches'.
Food and beverage packaging
Medical equipment storage
Plastic bottles take approximately 450 to 1,000 years to decompose in a landfill.
Options B, C, and D are all organic materials derived from plants or animals, making them easily decomposable by saprophytic organisms.
A is correct тАФ Plastic bottles are made of synthetic polymers that resist microbial decomposition, categorizing them as non-biodegradable.
Always remember that anything derived from biological living organisms is generally biodegradable, whereas synthetic man-made polymers are generally non-biodegradable.