Question

Which of the following substances is biodegradable?
A.Cloth
B.Thermosetting plastic
C.Thermoplastic
D.PVC pipes

Answer 1

Hint: Biodegradable substances are those that degrade or break down naturally. Non-biodegradable substances are those that do not degrade easily. These terms itself define the ability of the substance which is degradable or not. Materials like plants, animals, their waste, paper, fruits, flowers, vegetables fall under biodegradable substances, on the other hand, rubber, plastic, chemicals, paint plastic fall under the category of the non-biodegradable items.

Complete Answer:
Such waste materials can be degraded by natural factors like abiotic elements like temperature, oxygen etc. Cloth is a natural polymer made from cellulose. Here cloth is biodegradable while thermoplastic, thermosetting plastics and PVC are synthetic polymers which are non-biodegradable.

Hence, option (A) is the correct answer.

Additional information:
Biodegradable refers to the ability of things to get disintegrated by the action of micro-organism such as bacteria or fungi biological while getting assimilated into the natural environment. There is no ecological harm during the process. We can either speak of biodegradable solids or liquids that biodegrade into water, it is also called compostable.

Note: Biodegradable plastic is plastic that’s designed to break up when exposed to the presence of microorganism, it is usually made from natural byproducts, and follows rigorously controlled conditions of temperatures and humidity in industrial environments. Temperature and sunlight may also play roles in the decomposition of biodegradables. If such material is not biodegradable, they remain in the environment for a long time.