LAND POLLUTION
demand for food, shelter, and house,
Land pollution-means degradation or
destruction of the Earth’s surface and soil,
directly or indirectly, as a result of human
activities. Land pollution, the deposition of
solid or liquid waste materials on land or
underground in a manner that can contaminate
the soil and groundwater, threaten public health,
and cause unsightly conditions and nuisances
Causes of Land Pollution
 Deforestation and Soil Erosion-
Deforestation carried out to create
drylands is one of the major concerns
which can lead to the creation of barren
lands that can never be made fertile
again. Land conversion is the alteration
or modification of the original properties
of the land to make it use-worthy for a
specific purpose is also one of the major
causes because it hampers the land
immensely.
 Agricultural Activities- With the
growing human population, the demand
for food has increased considerably.
Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers
and pesticides to get rid of insects, fungi
and bacteria from their crops. However,
with the overuse of these chemicals, they
result in contamination and poisoning of
soil.
 Mining Activities- Mining is the
extraction of minerals and other
geological materials from the ground.
This extraction and the methods used,
however, deplete the earth of its natural
resources and cause damage and
pollution in its wake. During extraction
and mining activities, several land spaces
are created beneath the surface. We
constantly hear about land caving in,
which is nothing but nature's way of
filling the spaces left out after mining or
extraction activity.
 Overcrowded Landfills- Each
household produces tons of garbage each
year. Garbage like aluminum, plastic,
paper, cloth, wood is collected and sent
to the local recycling unit Items that
cannot be recycled become a part of the
landfills that hamper the beauty of the
city and cause land pollution.
 Industrialization- Due to an increase in
more goods are produced. This resulted
in the creation of more waste that needs
to be disposed of. To meet the demand of
the growing population, more industries
were developed, which led to
deforestation.
 Urbanization- We humans have been
making permanent settlements for at
least the past 10,000 years. Many of us
may not classify human settlements as
"land pollution," however, urbanization
marks a significant change to the
landscape that can cause land pollution
in so many ways
 Construction Activities - Due to
urbanization, many construction
activities are taking place, which has
resulted in huge waste articles like wood,
metal, bricks, plastic that can be seen by
naked eyes outside any building or office
which is under construction.
 Nuclear Waste- Nuclear plants can
produce a huge amount of energy
through nuclear fission and fusion. The
leftover radioactive material contains
harmful and toxic chemicals that can
affect human health. So, to avoid any
casualty, they are dumped beneath the
earth.
 Sewage Treatment- A large amount of
solid waste is leftover once the sewage
has been treated. The leftover material is
then sent to the landfill site, which ends
up polluting the environment.
 Littering- Littering is a common
problem, both in cities and in rural areas.
People just throw their garbage on the
ground without caring about the adverse
effects on the environment. A common
instance is that people just throw their
cigarette butt on the ground every time.
Since cigarettes contain elements
harmful to the environment, it leads to
land contamination.
Effects of Land Pollution
 Soil Pollution- Soil pollution is another
form of land pollution, where the upper
layer of the soil or the topsoil's
composition is damaged or becomes
altered. This is caused by the overuse of
 chemical fertilizers and soil erosion,
leading to loss of fertile land for
agriculture, forest cover, fodder patches
for grazing, etc. The regeneration
process takes at least 500years for 2.5
centimeters of topsoil.
 Groundwater Poisoning- When
harmful substances from industrial
processes, chemicals are improperly
disposed of on the land or in illegal
landfills or storages, the chemicals and
other substances could end up in the
groundwater system. The process is
called leaching.
 Drinking-Water Problem- Drinking
water is highly affected by land
pollution. Nearly 50% of the world's
population doesn't have access to safe
drinking water, and each year water-
based diseases cause up to 10 million
deaths.
 Change in Climate Patterns- The
effects of land pollution are very
hazardous and can lead to the loss of
ecosystems. When land is polluted, it
directly or indirectly affects the climate
patterns.
 Environmental Impact- When
deforestation is committed, the tree cover
is compromised. This leads to a steep
imbalance in the rain cycle can affects a
lot of factors. Most importantly, the
green cover is reduced. Trees and plants
help balance the atmosphere; without
them, we are subjected to various
concerns like global warming, the
greenhouse effect, irregular rainfall and
flash floods, etc.
 Effect on Human Health- The land,
when contaminated with toxic chemicals
and pesticides, lead to potentially fatal
problems like skin cancer and human
respiratory ailments. Globally, 9,500
people are diagnosed with skin cancer
every day. The toxic chemicals can reach
our body through foods and vegetables
that we eat as they are grown in polluted
soil. Land pollution also caused
developmental deficiency in children.
 Causes Air Pollution- Landfills across
the city keep on growing due to an
increase in waste. They become home
for rodents, mice, etc., which in turn
transmit diseases. To solve this issue,
some cities incinerate or burn their
garbage. Incinerating trash gets rid of it,
but it can release dangerous heavy metals
and chemicals into the air. So, while
trash incinerators can help with the
problem of land pollution, they
sometimes add to the problem of air
pollution.
 Distraction of Tourism- The city loses
its attraction as a tourist destination as
landfills do not look good around the
city. It leads to a loss of revenue for the
state government. Some communities do
not have adequate garbage collection
systems, and trash lines the side of roads.
In other places, garbage washes up on
beaches.
 Water Nutrient Enrichment-
Chemicals that are frequently used on
agricultural farms, end up benefitting the
crops only in a small proportion. The rest
ends up in water populated by fish,
algae, and other lifeforms. As the
nutrient-heavy water saps up most of the
oxygen in the water, it leaves little
oxygen for fish and other marine life.
The water in that situation becomes
unable to support most life forms.
 Wildfires- When land areas are polluted,
they usually become quite dry. The dry
conditions created by pollutants in the
soil create the perfect environment for
wildfires and increases the probability of
wildfires dramatically. The fires can
grow quickly because of the dry
conditions and widening area of polluted
land, thereby harming the whole
environment, and killing plants, animals
and even humans.
 Habitat Shifting - The animal kingdom
faces a serious threat with regard to the
loss of habitat and natural environment.
The constant human activity on land is
leaving it polluted, forcing these species
to move from their natural habitat to find
shelter and food. They try to adapt to
new regions or die trying to adjust. The
change is too traumatic for some
animals, and this even leads to loss of
life. Several species are also pushed to
 the verge of extinction, due to loss of to where it can be used for fertilizer.
habitat.
11. Reduce the use of antimicrobials, including
 Other Issues- Other issues that we face
antibiotics in the livestock sector.
include increased temperature,
unseasonal weather activity, acid rains, 12. Create dumping ground away from
etc. The discharge of chemicals on land residential areas.
makes it dangerous for the ecosystem
13. Urge your local government to clean-up
too. These chemicals are consumed by
contaminated sites and establish guidelines to
the animals and plants and thereby
prevent recontamination.
making they’re This process is called
biomagnification and is a serious threat 14. Promote reforestation. It involves replanting
to the ecology way in the ecosystem. an area with trees. This can be needed for areas
that have experienced wildfires, for instance, or
where trees had been chopped down and milled.
Solutions to Land Pollution This process helps to bind the soil, which helps
to protect it from land pollution and prevents
1. Encourage people to Refuse, Reduce, Reuse soil erosion and flooding.
and Recycle. Refuse to buy unsustainable
products. 15. Education is key to mitigate the land
pollution problems. We must educate people the
2. Reuse materials to help reduce the adverse effects of land pollution and the way to
requirement of harvesting resources. The mitigate them. Convincing others can motivate
products that cannot be reused can likely be every one of
recycled.
us to make a significant contribution to save our
3. Reduce the use of non-biodegradable environment.
materials. By simply switching to a reusable
cloth bag for groceries instead of plastic
shopping bags, you can help cut down the need
for non-biodegradable materials.
4. Avoid buying packaged items as they will
lead to creating garbage and end up in the
landfill site.
5. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground
and do proper disposal of garbage. This is an
essential measure against land pollution both for
households as well as for industries.
6. Dispose harmful trash like batteries and
computer equipment properly.
7. Buy biodegradable and organic products.
8. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in
agricultural activities
9. Do organic gardening and eat organic food
that will be grown without the use of pesticides
or
insecticide. Growing food on uncontaminated
soil helps fight hunger and provides safe food.
10. Start a compost heap. Composting is when
you collect organic waste and store it so it
breaks down