Question

 Describe an activity to show that while paper is biodegradable but plastic (say, polythene) is non-biodegradable.

Answer 1

An activity to prove that paper is biodegradable and plastic is non-biodegradable is described below.
1) Take a piece of paper and a polythene bag.
2) Dig a hole in the ground about 15 cm deep and place both the paper and the polythene bag separately in it. Cover them with soil.
3) Leave them for about one month.
4) On uncovering the buried materials, it will be observed that the paper has been partially eaten up by micro-organisms, whereas the polythene bag has remained unaffected. This proves that paper is biodegradable, whereas plastic is non-biodegradable.