What are the problems caused by the non-biodegradable wastes that we generate?

Non-biodegradable wastes cause various problems like:

1. Soil and water pollution — The unused chemical fertilizers, residual pesticides, plastics etc. cause contamination of soil and water.
2. Bio-magnification — The chemicals or heavy metals from non-biodegradable wastes enter the food chain and increase in their concentration in successive trophic level. These chemicals may cause cancer and other diseases.
3. Dumping — Since they do not degrade, their dumping becomes a serious problem. Chemicals leach from dumping grounds and contaminate ground water.
4. Microplastics — Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic that may enter the body through food or water. They are very harmful for our body.
5. Clogging of drains — Non-biodegradable wastes, mostly plastic lead to clogging of drains.
6. Ecological imbalance — Non-biodegradable wastes lead to ecological imbalance in following ways — many stray cattle die by consuming polythene bags, contamination of water bodies kill many aquatic organisms, non-biodegradable chemicals lead to eutrophication killing aquatic animals.