Download Land Pollution

Land Pollution
Have you noticed the small piles of uncollected garbage in street corners? This is
a common sight especially if garbage trucks do not come regularly.
Land pollution damages the thin layer of fertile soil essential for the growth of
trees and other plants. Excessive use and poor land management brought about land
degradation, deterioration and eventually desert formation. The transformation from
grasslands and forests to desertland took thousand of years. This is indeed a classic
example of the misuse of land.
In nature, cycles similar to those which keep water clean also work to keep the
soil fertile, such as plant and animal wastes and dead organisms accumulate in the soil
and decayed by bacteria and fungi and transform them into nitrates, phosphates and other
nutrients and minerals. But the rate of wastes thrown in the soil is so great that the
natural decay processes could not cope with the speed of its accumulation.
Visible Forms of Land Pollution
1. solid wastes
2. open dumpsites and landfills
Sources of Land Pollution
1. urban refuse (commercial and domestic) such as food waste, plastics, cans,
papers, etc.
2. construction debris
3. street sweepings
4. abandoned junks
Effects of Land Pollution
1. erosion, siltation, and flooding
2. perils on people’s health
2.1 from infectious wastes
2.2 proliferation of disease-bearing animals
2.3 rural and urban blight (landscape)
Control of Land Pollution
1. reduce
2. reuse
3. recycle
4. composting
5. waste-to-energy
Historically, garbage has been disposed of in areas commonly referred to as
dumps. It is an inexpensive process and a lot of areas can be used.
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Because of increase of rate of throwing, dumpsites are not favored. It must be
regulated. The land is not just used as is but must first undergo land analysis and
preparation. It is no longer called just a dumpsite, but a “sanitary landfill.”