Question

What is land pollution? Discuss solid waste management.

Answer 1

• Land is one of the most important components of our natural environment. Land provides substratum for the growth of vegetation and crop plants.
• Land pollution is the degradation of Earth's land surfaces often caused by human activities and their misuse of land resources. It occurs when urban and industrial wastes are not disposed properly, due to exploitation of minerals, and improper use of soil by inadequate agricultural practice. Urbanization and industrialization are major causes of land pollution.
•  Mechanisms that initiate land degradation include physical, chemical, and biological processes.
•  Important physical processes are decline in soil structure leading to crusting, compaction, erosion, desertification, anaerobism, environmental pollution, and unsustainable use of natural resources. Significant chemical processes include acidification, leaching, salinization, decrease in cation retention capacity, and fertility depletion. Biological processes include reduction in total and biomass carbon, and decline in land biodiversity.

Solid waste Management:

• The management of solid waste is very essential for the sustainable growth of human civilization.
• The major considerations in solid waste management are public health and environmental conservation.
• Solid waste management is basically a three step process which includes collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste. It involves several practices like source reduction, recycling, composting, landfilling, and incineration.