F.4 Biology Group Investigation

1. F.4 Biology Group Investigation Land Pollution Group 5

2. Members List Chan Sze Chun ( 2) Tong Shing Chung ( 17) Lee Suen Kwan ( 32) Leung Wan Iu ( 33) Wong Lok Sze ( 40) Wong Wing Yi ( 41)

3. Definition of Land Pollution What is Pollution? Pollution is the addition to the ecosystem of something which has a detrimental effect on it. Then, What is means by Land Pollution? Land pollution is the degradation of the Earth's land surface through misuse of the soil by poor agricultural practices mineral exploitation industrial waste dumping and indiscriminate disposal of urban wastes. It includes visible waste and litter as well as pollution of the soil itself.

4. Importance of land The land gives us food, Lumber, paper, glass, metals etc. Everything you see started in the soil or rocks. Land is very precious, it is something that should be cherished and protected. But we waste everything the land provided for us so that the land must produce even more.

5. Sources of pollutants One of the most important causes of pollution is the high rate of energy usage by modern, growing populations. Many commercial activities result in the production of large volumes of solid waste material. Also, the construction activities and domestic households produce large amounts of non-recycled wastes

6. Composition of domestic waste disposed of at waste facilities (percentage by weight) The community of Hong Kong disposes about 25,000 tonesof solid wastes every day. It was found that plastic, paper and metals contributed about 40% by weight of the domestic waste.

7. Problems caused by land pollution The increasing amount of solid waste and its disposal Leading to visual pollution ,public health hazards, and water and air pollution.  The problem of litter and waste spoils the beauty of our environment .  The discarded solid waste , if untreated, will decay, producing bad smells and polluting and the sea. Soil erosion happens in many ways such as draining of fens and bogs, but mainly through the introduction and intensification of agriculture.

8. Heavy Metal Heavy metal additions to soil can affect fertility and agricultural productivity. The soil acts as a long term sink for heavy metals such as zinc, copper, nickel and cadmium, which have residence times ranging from hundreds to thousands of years, depending on the element and soil properties.

9. Health, safety, and environmental threats: • Fire and explosion • Inhalation of toxic gases • Injury to children playing on or around the dump site • Disease carried by mosquitoes, flies, and rodents • Contamination of streams, rivers and lakes • Contamination of soil and groundwater • Contamination of drinking water • Damage to plant and wildlife habitats • Decrease in the quality of life to nearby residents and the local community • Open dumps create a public nuisance, divert land from more productive uses, and depress the value of surrounding land.

10. Severity of Land Pollution Hong Kong generates several different types of waste, and those rubbish are then put into the landfill sites which are shown below. From the pictures above, landfill sites are expected to be fully filled, however, rubbish are non-stopped to produce. Therefore if we don’t stop such a behavior, in one day, we need to store our rubbish at home.

11. The Capacity of Landfill From the above graph, we can observe that the landfill sites will be fully filled till the year ended 2015, therefore we should stop the problem without further continues serious.

12. Government now doing… • The Legislative Council passes the Waste Disposal Bill 2003 • To impose charge on the disposal of construction wastes at landfills, sorting facilities and public fill reception facilities • The graph nearby shows that the government successfully lows down the production of wastes through Achievement of Waste wise Scheme.

13. Suggestions to government • Education advertisements and exhibitions can help enhance citizens’ awareness of environmental protection. • Give financial support to Recycling Company The recycling industry is a land-hungry one. Since land is expensive in Hong Kong, the government can try to identify affordable options for recyclers • Encourage the producer to produce degradable substances As some of the substances can decompose naturally, they can reduce the pressure on land and thus, the land pollution can be solved.

14. Suggestions to Citizens • Encourage people to use recycled substances recycled substances e.g. recycled paper, battery etc. can decrease the production of wastes and thus lows down the pressure on landfill sites. • Reduce and reuse the food wastes Yet this waste can become a resource by turning it into compost, animal feed or other useful products. • Following the ‘4R’ Principle Since this principle can greatly reduce the production of wastes efficiently, it can lows down the cost of disposal of wastes

15. 4Rs' concept (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace) The 4Rs' concept in waste management helps in minimizing waste, reducing demand for scarce landfill space and saving resources. Discarded items such as newspaper, office paper, aluminum cans, glass containers and certain plastic items can be collected for reusing or recycling.

16. Recycle Recycling is a great way to made a positive impact on the environment. Take most of product packaging such as plastics, glass, cardboard (including unbleached paper towel rolls & cereal-type boxes), tin and aluminum, as well as newspapers, magazines and phonebooks to the nearest recycling unit. Replace Replace means find other things instead of the original things. For example, use towel instead of tissues.

17. Reuse Reusing means try using  again the item you were planning to throw away, perhaps for some other purposes, or give it to someone else who could use it. Reduce • We bring lots of stuff to home. Before • bringing them  to your home, think carefully whether you really need it. Then think about what else you're bringing home with it. (For example, is it triple-wrapped in plastic or smothered with bulky, unnecessary packaging?)

18. The End Thank you for attention