Land Pollution:

• Land pollution refers to the deterioration of the earth’s land surfaces, at and below ground level. The cause is the accumulation of solid and liquid waste materials that contaminate groundwater and soil. These waste materials are often referred to as municipal solid waste (MSW), which includes both hazardous and non-hazardous waste.

Causes of Land Pollution:

a) Litter:

Littering, the improper disposal of waste products, is unfortunately common. Every cigarette butt tossed on the ground or food wrapper tossed out of a car window is a small contribution to a monumental issue. According to Keep America Beautiful, 76% of litter found on roadways is from pedestrians and motorists. Not all litter, however, is intentional. A large volume of litter also comes from unsecured items that fall off the back of vehicles or out of trash receptacles.  All litter, whether intentional or not, causes pollution by releasing chemicals and micro-particles as it degrades.

b) Urbanization and Construction:

While urbanization is not in itself littering, large quantities of people living, producing trash and littering in a dense area does inevitably lead to land pollution. To accommodate this increased population, construction activities also occur, which result in large waste materials, such as metal, plastic, wood, and bricks. When these materials are not properly disposed of, it contributes to the land pollution of that area.

To help reduce the environmental impact of construction sites, it’s important to work with partners that offer comprehensive builder solutions to achieve cost-effective construction recycling and waste disposal plans.

c) Mining:

Mining is the extraction of minerals and other geological materials from the ground, which are then used for a wide range of purposes, including but not limited to, producing gasoline for automobiles, generating electricity, and selling materials such as gold and silver. This extraction and the methods used, however, deplete the earth of its natural resources and cause damage and pollution in its wake. That’s why finding alternatives for energy (think solar and wind power) that aren’t mined from the earth’s surface are so vital in helping to reduce land pollution moving forward.

d) Agriculture:

Agriculture is foundational for both everyday life, as well as the economy as a whole. It also, however, can have profound effects on the planet. Agricultural pollution occurs when contamination created as a by-product of raising livestock and growing food crops is released into the environment, and the contamination is vast.

Effects of Land Pollution

Land pollution touches essentially every area of the living world, including:

• Water that isn’t safe to drink
• Polluted soil, which leads to a loss of fertile land for agriculture
• Climate change, which causes an onslaught of disastrous problems, including flash floods and irregular rainfalls
• The endangerment and extinction of species in wildlife
• Habitat shifting, where some animals are forced to flee where they live in order to survive
• An increase in wildfires, due to polluted areas often becoming very dry
• Increased air pollution, which burning waste.