Phytoremediation is the treatment of environmental problems (bioremediation) through the use of plants that mitigate the environmental problem

without the need to excavate the contaminant. It's associated with the process of bioremediation because it applies to all chemicals or physical processes that involve plants for degrading or immobilizing contaminants in soil and ground water. An example that is used to break down hazardous waste is by stabilization, where the plant converts the contaminant into a form which is not bio-available, or the plant prevents the spreading of a contaminant plume. Phytostabilization is the use of certain plant species to immobilize contaminants in the soil and groundwater through absorption and accumulation by roots, adsorption onto roots, or precipitation within the root zone of plants. It's associated with the process of bioremediation because it extracts the toxins out

of the soil, and is absorbed by the plant. An example of how it is used to break down hazardous waste, is that it immobilizes the contaminants in the soil/water, and absorbs it by the roots. That's how it is used to break down hazardous waste. Phytodegredation is degradation of a photodegradable molecule caused by the absorption of photons, particularly those wavelengths found in sunlight, such as infrared radiation, visible light, and ultraviolet light. It is associated with the process of bioremediation because the plant absorbs all of the bad stuff. Bioremediation absorbs all of the bad things. An example of how it is used to break down hazardous waste, is that it breaks down the contaminants taken up by plants through metabolic processes within the plant, or the breakdown of contaminants surrounding the plant through the effect of compounds produced by the plants. Phytoextraction is a sub-process of phytoremediation in which plants remove dangerous elements or compounds from soil or water, most usually heavy metals, metals that have a high density and may be toxic to organisms even at relatively low concentrations. This is associated with the process of bioremediation because it uses plants to remove contaminants from the environment and concentrate them in above-ground plant tissue. An example of how this is used to break down hazardous waste is it uses plants to absorb, trans-locate and store toxic contaminants from a soil matrix into their root and shoot tissue.