| Degradable pollutants | Non-degradable pollutants |
| 1. Degradable pollutants can degrade on their own after some time. | 1. non-degradable pollutants cannot degrade on their own. |
| 2. Degradable pollutants are usually acted upon by microorganisms to reduce them to inorganic substances. | 2. non-degradable pollutants are not acted upon by microorganisms and hence are not reduced to inorganic substances. |
| 3. Degradable pollutants are not accumulated in nature. | 3. non-degradable pollutants accumulate in nature and remain there for a long period of time. |
| 4. Degradable pollutants emit foul odour when they are being decomposed. | 4. non-degradable pollutants may not emit foul odour as they are not decomposed. |
| 5. Vegetables and fruits, food refuse, organic matter, etc. form degradable pollutants. | 5. Metals, plastic, glass, etc. form nondegradable pollutants. |
