Causes of Land Pollution

Deforestation and Soil Erosion

Carried out to create drylands is one of the major concerns. Land that is once converted into dry or barren land can never be made fertile again, whatever the magnitude of measures to redeem it is. Land conversion meaning the alteration or modification of the original properties of the land to make it use-worthy for a specific purpose is another major cause. It hampers the land immensely. Also, there is constant waste of land. Unused available land over the years turns barren; this land then cannot be used.

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 activities, including prospecting, exploration, construction, operation, maintenance, expansion, abandonment, decommissioning and repurposing of a mine can impact social and environmental systems. 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 aluminium, plastic, paper, cloth, wood is collected and send 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.

Construction Activities

Due to urbanization, a large number of 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. They are dumped beneath the earth to avoid any casualty.

Littering

Littering is a common problem, no matter it is a city or a rural region. 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.