Chapter 15 Section 10 What causes land pollution? Objective: Describe the causes of land pollution.

Litter and Garbage litter: materials that are carelessly thrown away Litter is one of the causes of land pollution. Litter harms the land and destroys the beauty of many areas.

Litter and Garbage Garbage, mainly food wastes, also causes land pollution. Each year people create billions of tons of garbage. The garbage builds up at dumps or is put in landfills. There, the garbage is buried between layers of soil.

Litter and Garbage Many materials in garbage are biodegradable. This means they break down. Other materials contain harmful substances that may seep into the soil.

IDENTIFY: What are two causes of land pollution?

Industrial Wastes Chemical wastes from industry pollute the water. They also pollute the land.

Industrial Wastes Some industrial wastes are buried in drums in the ground. Many of these toxic wastes contain harmful metals such as mercury and lead. In many places, these wastes are leaking from the drums into the ground. They then pollute the land and can harm living things.

2. DESCRIBE: How are some industrial wastes disposed of?

Protecting the Land Getting rid of garbage and chemical wastes is a growing problem. Cities have taken some steps to reduce land pollution. Garbage is collected regularly. Streets are cleaned of litter. However, much more needs to be done.

Protecting the Land One solution to the problem of land pollution is to make use of certain wastes. Some wastes can be used as fertilizers. Others can be burned as energy sources. Still other wastes, such as plastics, glass bottles, and cans, can be recycled.

Protecting the Land The cleanup of chemical wastes that leak into the soil is a more difficult problem. Cleaning up these wastes is expensive and takes years.

3. ANALYZE: What are some solutions to the problem of land pollution?

15-10 Classwork CHECKING CONCEPTS Materials that are carelessly thrown away are called ___. Some wastes can be burned to produce ___. Garbage put between layers of land creates a ___. Cleaning up chemical wastes from the ___ is expensive and takes a lot of time.

15-10 Classwork THINKING CRITICALLY 5. ANALYZE: What are some steps you can take to reduce the amount of litter in your neighborhood? 6. APPLY: How can industrial wastes pollute both land and water?