Question

Animal dung is ___waste.
(a) Biodegradable
(b) Non-biodegradable
(c) Hazardous
(d) Toxic

Answer 1

Hint: Animal dung is a rich source of ammonia and microorganisms which helps in the breakdown of biomolecules into soluble forms.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Animal dung refers to animal droppings or waste made up of digested grass and grain. Farmers call cow dung or chicken dung as manure instead. Animal dung is a biodegradable waste as they contain- hydrocarbons, which can be easily broken down into simpler organic molecules like- methane, hydrogen, water, and oxygen both aerobically and anaerobically.
The manure or animal dung is used as a rich fertilizer, an efficient fuel, and also as a biogas producer. Biogas is a useful building material, a raw material for papermaking, and an insect repellent as well.

Additional Information:
1. The biodegradable waste consists of organic matter that can be broken degraded into the water, carbon dioxide, methane, or any other simple organic molecules by microorganisms and other living things by a process like - composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or any other similar processes.
2.Non-Biodegradable wastes can be defined as a type of substance that cannot be broken down by natural organisms and so it acts as a source of pollution. They remain on earth for thousands of years without any degradation.
3. Toxic waste is any unwanted material that can cause harm to air, water, soil, and living organisms such as toxic elements present in computers, phones, industrial leakage, etc.
4. Hazardous waste are the ones that have substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Characteristic hazardous wastes exhibit the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, and corrosivity.

So, the correct answer is ‘biodegradable'.

Note: The cow dung consists of a variety of microorganisms such as Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Serratia, E. coli, etc. The cow dung is a rich source of NPK fertilizer consisting of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium in a ratio of 3:2:1. The compost prepared from the cow dung produces a negligible greenhouse effect.