Impact of Waste Accumulation:

Spoilage of Landscape and

Pollution

Spoilage of Landscape

Open dumps do not only ruin the natural beauty of the land but also provide a home to rats and other disease carrying organisms.

Burning of coal, fuel, etc. produce Sulphur and nitrogen which react with oxygen and form respective oxides. These react with water vapour to form acids, which in turn precipitate with rain and form acid rain.

A chemical reaction occurs between the acid in the rain and the buildings, leading to corrosion of the monument.

Gypsum and calcium sulphate are washed away, causing damaging marks on statues and monuments.

PARTHENON OF ATHENS

COLOSSEUM OF ROME

TAJ MAHAL OF AGRA

Pollution

It is an unfavourable modification of the natural world caused entirely or partly due to direct or

indirect actions of human beings.

Accumulation of waste is probably the most visible form of pollution.

Every year, humans dispose off billions of metric tonnes of solid waste.

The main sources of waste:DomesticCommercialIndustrialMunicipal Agricultural Agriculture and the food processing industry are

considered the largest contributors.

Scavengers and stray animals invade the opengarbage dumps and spread the waste overlarge area, thereby, spreading germs anddiseases as well as destroying the beauty of the place.

Industrial waste contains harmful chemicals, particulates and toxic heavy metals (eg. Lead, Mercury)

These get deposited in animal tissues and harm living things along the food chain.

As accumulated waste decomposes, it produces a large quantity of methane gas.

This is highly explosive, if not managed properly.

EutrophicationIt is the process of depletion of oxygen from water bodies occurring naturally or by human activities. It takes place due to introduction of nutrients and chemicals of domestic sewage, fertilizers, etc.

When nutrients become abundant due to waste accumulation, the growth of phytoplankton and algae increases.

Consequently, the penetration of oxygen, light and heat into the waterbody is reduced.

This causes the death of most of the aquatic organisms, draining the water of all its oxygen.

The End