Effect of bio-degradation and non degradable substances in environment

Abstract

Non-Biodegradable substances produce the greenhouse gasses, methane and carbon dioxide. Growing plants and trees on top of a landfill, a process known as ‘Phyto capping’, could reduce the production and release of these gasses. In certain parts of the world, it remains the most economical and simplest method of waste disposal. Biodegradation of organic matter in a landfill site occurs most rapidly when water comes into contact with the buried waste. An important step in the drive is to remove environmentally harmful materials from waste streams and drinking water. A synthetic clay known as swelling mica has the ability to separate ions of radium, a radioactive metal, from the water. The finding could have implications for radioactive and hazardous waste disposal, particularly in the cleanup of mill tailings left over from the processing of uranium for the nation’s nuclear industry. The tailings contain radium and heavy metals.