As C.A. (Kees) Kan wrote, heavy metals and indeed any element can not be biodegraded (they are "elements" after all and to "degrade" them you will need a particle accelerator).
Other than this there are many very hard-to-biodegrade compounds, e.g. "persistent organic pollutants" and many "plastics" (a generic name poorly describing different chemical polymers).
Do keep in mind that "biodegradable" is a misleading term, one should always ask "Biodegradable under what conditions"? Its a complex issue with many complex answers
Plastics, polythene bags, insecticides, pesticides, mercury, lead,arsenic, metal articles like aluminum cans, synthetic fibers, glass objects, iron products and silver foils etc.
POPs = Persistent Organic Pollutants Such as DDT, PCBs, and PFAS compounds. This can also include some biologically resistant pharmaceuticals and biocides such as carbamazepine, and triclosan/triclocarban etc. And don't forget the so called mineral fiber class such as asbestos (many different kinds).
Son los que proceden de materia inorgánica u orgánica, su descomposición es lenta y no se da por procesos naturales, por lo que se hace difícil su eliminación ejemplo de esto son los plásticos y metales pesados
They are those that come from inorganic or organic matter, their decomposition is slow and does not occur by natural processes, so their removal is difficult. Examples of this are plastics and heavy metals.
Non-biodegradable pollutants are substances that don’t naturally break down or decompose over time through biological processes. Instead, they stick around in the environment for a long time, causing potential long-term pollution and negative consequences. Think of certain plastics like polyethylene and polystyrene, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, certain pesticides like DDT, and synthetic chemicals like PCBs. These pollutants present significant challenges for environmental management because they don’t easily go away. Proper disposal and recycling methods are necessary to minimize their harmful effects and protect our planet.
Non- biodegradable pollutants that do not decompose by nature such as DDT, plastics, polythene, lead vapour, silver foils, etc. are non-biodegradable pollutants.
Well, DDT is a very stable and highly polluting chemical product due to its long degradation period.
Plastics in the same way their degradation occurs with many years in the environment, which makes them non-biodegradable.
Heavy metals, despite the fact that they have their natural cycle on the planet, have an impact on the environment.
In general terms, time and environmental conditions are capable of degrading everything, except that on a human scale we must develop methodologies that allow, in the case of plastics, their transformation into other products. For heavy metals, if we must make laws that protect freshwater sources as well as the seas from these chemical elements than in the case of mercury, we already know how it is transformed into methyl mercury and its deadly polluting cycle.