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Land Pollution
Statistics have shown that land pollution result in a loss of 6 million hectares of land and 24billion tons of topsoil per year.
Mining
Much waste is generated from mining and there is often inappropriate disposal of such waste which brings harm to the water, land, air and even living beings will be affected by the many mining activities due to the pollutants it creates such as lead, cyanide, arsenic etc. Valuable reserves are often exploited by mining companies which will hurt our ecosystem.
When these harmful byproducts are leaked into the ground, our environmental health will be hurt in forms of erosion, sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, contamination of ground and surface waters. These chemicals react with our oxygen and water and can potentially cause intoxication when consumed by humans.
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Littering
Solid wastes affect our everyday life as they consume our beloved scenery and destroy the beauty of the surroundings. As most of these waste end up as litter on streets, they come as a very visible form of waste and can be seen as not only waste pollution but also sight pollution.
Tourism is an important aspect for a country’s economy, especially for the Pacific islands. However, tourists in these areas have to deal with the litter, aluminum cans, plastic packaging and all the junk on the roads. Open dumps which are close to industrial sites are also almost always on fire, disturbing and preventing tourists from enjoying their stay in the tropics.
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Landfills
Over a long period of time, landfills will start to emit landfill gases. Landfill gas is produced due to the anaerobic conditions that organic wastes decomposed in. This gas is hazardous as it can be explosive when it interacts with the oxygen in our atmosphere and the methane in landfill gases plays a part in the contribution to global warming which is harmful to us in the near future.
Most waste buried in landfills give rise to hazardous and toxic liquids known as leachates. When leachates ooze out into nearby land, these leachates might contaminate water sources, like the ground water below the landfills, leading to water pollution.
Besides the points mentioned above, it is also important to note that these over-crowded dumps, contaminated sites and careless disposal of waste also contributes to air and water pollution, as well as, acid rain.
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Agriculture
Pesticides and herbicides are highly toxic and pose a dangerous threat to our health when washed into the soil, damaging it. Soil erosion results and important nutrients in the soil are washed away, causing farmlands to be less productive in harvests. Eroded soil containing harmful chemicals and wastes can also contaminate our drinking water, bringing about poisoning and threaten human health.
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