Litter degradation

Hjelm O, Johansson E, Oberg G (1999) Production of Organically Bound Halogens by the Litter-Degrading Fungus Lepista nuda. Soil Biol Biochem 31 1509... 

A reaction that involves chemical species in more than one phase is termed heterogeneous.1 An example is the composite reaction describing the reductive dissolution of the common soil mineral hematite (a-Fe ) in the presence of visible light by oxalic acid (H2C204), a ubiquitous plant litter degradation product ... 

The floating debris and beach litter consists of many different materials that, tending to be non-degradable, endure in the marine environment for many years. 

Steffen KT, A Hatakka, M Hofrichter (2003) Degradation of benzo[a]pyrene by the litter-decomposing basid-iomycete Stropharia coronilla role of manganese peroxidase. Appl Environ Microbiol 69 3957-3963. 

The persistence of polymers in the environments is useful for long term durability of structures such as buildings, vehicles, docks, boats and navigation aids. Unfortunately, when the polymers are unintentional byproducts of recreational or commercial activities, collateral wildlife loss may result from entanglement in packaging materials, lost nets, lines and ropes. These wildlife losses due to litter have received significant public visibility. The critical degradation to address this... 

As shown in Table I, the plastic component of MSW has increased dramatically. Past development of synthetic plastic formulations has focused on reducing the photo, chemical, and biological degradation of the plastic polymers. However, the persistence of plastics in the environment as litter, potential marine hazard, and with concern for global carbon cycling 1,6) has focused recent attention on the recycling of plastics or development of new biodegradable plastic formulations. 

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