Question

Which of the following is a biodegradable pollutant?
A. Domestic waste.
B. DDT.
C. Mercury salt.
D. Aluminum foil

Answer 1

Hint: We know that biodegradable pollutant is that material which can be degraded by natural factors like microbes, a biotic element like temperature, UV, oxygen, it can be decomposed in the environment usually by micro-organism or other natural means, into harmless products that have low deleterious effect on an ecosystem.

Complete answer:
> Human excreta waste/Domestic waste is the most biodegradable type of waste but can become a very bad pollutant if not disposed of properly. Examples of biodegradable substances are dead plants and animals, their waste, fruits, vegetables, flowers, paper, etc.
> When we talk about DDT, aluminum foil and mercury salt, it cannot be decomposed by natural process. They cannot be recycled and they also cause environmental pollution. And the main thing is these are generally obtained from non living things. so we can say that these are not biodegradable pollutants. Because biodegradable pollutants can be decomposed by natural process and obtained by living things.

Therefore the correct answer is A.

Additional Information:
Non-biodegradable waste is a type of waste that cannot be broken down into its base compounds by micro - organisms, air moisture or soil in a reasonable period of time. It is a kind of substance which cannot be broken by natural organisms and acts as a source of pollution.

Note: Biodegradable waste is used in such a way like composting or tool for heat. A very dangerous form of non biodegradable waste is nuclear waste. Nuclear waste consists of elements which do not exist in nature but have been created by man. These elements decay to elements which also appear in nature, but decay may take thousands of years.