5.19 Explain that addition polymers are hard to dispose of as their inertness means that they do not easily biodegrade

Addition polymers are unreactive because they are saturated, which means they don't biodegrade easily. Solutions used today include:

• burning (not good, produces cancerous / harmful gases)
• landfills (takes up a lot of useful land and harmful chemicals leak into the soil)
• recycling (good for the environment but uses up energy and isn't always cheapest)