Microbial Biodegradation of Toxic Waste (Bioremediation) For many decades, humans have polluted the environment. The resultant toxic waste has been attributed to the development of a number of serious illnesses and health problems, such as cancer, diabetes, developmental illnesses, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, liver damage, and potentially heart disease. Image Credit: dimitris_k/Shutterstock.com To tackle this major health and environmental issue, scientists have developed a strategy to clean up toxic waste using naturally occurring and genetically modified microbes to degrade toxic substances so that they are no longer harmful. This strategy is known as bioremediation. What is bioremediation?