Photostimulated decomposition and oxidation of some ecologically significant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on surfaces of natural aerosol constituents are taken as an example for demonstrating the importance of these processes as the tropospheric sink of organic pollutants. Oxidation rate constants of some halogenated hydrocarbons, isoprene and monoterpenes, as well as of aromatic hydrocarbons, on the surfaces of metal oxides, desert sand, volcanic ash, and sea salt are given. Comparison of the data obtained with the gas-phase homogeneous reaction rates proves the necessity for taking heterogeneous sinks into account in studying the atmospheric chemistry of radiative and photochemically active VOCs.