The term geodegradable refers to a material that could degrade in the environment over a geologic time period. While biodegradable generally refers to items that may degrade within our lifetime, geodegradable material does not decompose readily and may take hundreds or thousands of years. Radioactive waste, for example, is degraded only over thousands of years. The glass formed as an end result of a hazardous waste treatment technology known as "in situ vitrification," is considered geodegradable only after a million years.

See Also

Half-Life; Hazardous Waste Site Remediation; Hazardous Waste Siting; Waste Management