Question

Give any two ways in which non-biodegradable substances would affect the environment.

Answer 1

Hint: Organic substances are biodegradable, while substances of inorganic are non-biodegradable. Organic substances can be used as food by decomposers but the inorganic substances cannot be used as food by decomposers due to which it may cause pollution.

Complete step by step answer:
First we should know about non biodegradable pollutants to answer this question. A non-biodegradable material may be described as a category of product that cannot be broken down by organisms and serves as a source of contamination. Unlike biodegradable waste, it is not easy to treat non-biodegradable waste. Non-biodegradable traces are those that natural agents cannot decompose or dissolve. Toxic pollutants that are not naturally degraded or decomposed into less destructive compounds are said as non-biodegradable pollutants. The main cause of creating non-biodegradable pollutants is humans. Heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury, synthetic fabrics, polythene, and DDT are found among these contaminants.
Two ways in which non-biodegradable substances would affect the environment are
As they cannot be broken down by microorganisms, they contaminate soil and water resources.
These compounds can harm animals and can cause their death when mistakenly consumed by stray animals.

Note: Other effects of non-biodegradable substances in the environment are in the food chain, they can induce biomagnification and end up in humans, and they produce harmful poisonous gas which may cause respiratory diseases.