Environmental & Social Impacts of Waste (HL IB ESS OLD COURSE - IGNORE)
Revision Note
Written by: Alistair Marjot
Reviewed by: Bridgette Barrett
Environmental & Social Impacts of Waste
Environmental impacts of waste
The production, treatment and disposal of waste can have severe environmental consequences, both locally and globally
Pollution
Air pollution: burning waste, especially in open landfills, can release harmful gases like methane and carbon dioxide
These gases contribute to climate change
Decomposing organic waste in landfills also produces methane (a potent greenhouse gas)
Water pollution: improper waste disposal can lead to chemicals and hazardous materials leaching into rivers, lakes and oceans
This harms aquatic life and contaminates drinking water sources
Soil pollution: hazardous waste, chemicals and heavy metals from landfills or improper waste disposal can seep into the soil
These pollutants contaminate soils and harm plant growth, as well as enter food chains through plants and crops
Habitat destruction
Landfills and waste dumps take up large areas of land
This often leads to the destruction of natural habitats and loss of biodiversity
For example, in Ghana, the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump has not only polluted local water sources but also destroyed large areas of natural land
Social impacts of waste
Waste management also has important social consequences
These particularly affect low-income communities and countries
Health risks
Exposure to waste, especially e-waste and biohazardous materials, can lead to serious health issues
This can include respiratory diseases, skin infections and cancers
Low-income countries that receive waste from high-income nations often lack proper facilities to safely handle and treat waste
This can result in dangerous living and working conditions for local people
Environmental injustice
Waste exports: high-income countries often export their waste to low-income countries, which struggle to manage it safely
This leads to environmental injustice
This occurs when the negative impacts of waste are disproportionately experienced by poorer countries
The Basel Convention was introduced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1992
It is an international treaty designed to:
Regulate the movement of hazardous waste between countries
Prevent the export of such waste from high-income to low-income nations
Protect human health and the environment from the dangers of improper waste disposal
However, illegal waste exporting and dumping still occurs
Impact on local communities
The presence of landfills or waste processing plants near communities can decrease the quality of life for local people due to:
Bad smells
Noise
Potential contamination of local water and soil
Communities near waste sites often suffer from:
Lower property values
Reduced economic opportunities
Poor health outcomes
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember that waste can be (and is often) transported across borders, causing impacts far from where it was generated.
Ecosystems & Pollution
Pollution occurs when harmful substances are added to the environment at a rate faster than ecosystems can process or transform them into harmless substances
Ecosystems naturally have the ability to absorb and manage a certain amount of waste and pollution
They achieve this through processes like photosynthesis and nutrient cycling
However, when the amount of waste exceeds their capacity, pollution builds up
At this point, it causes harm to the environment
Ability of ecosystems to absorb waste
Ecosystems as natural filters: many ecosystems can absorb and transform pollutants into less harmful substances
Some examples include:
Forests: trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis
They convert it into oxygen, reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
Wetlands: ecosystems like salt marshes and mangroves can absorb nitrogen, phosphorus and other pollutants from water
They act as natural filters, trapping these substances and using them for plant growth
Grasslands and farmlands: plants can take up nitrogen and phosphorus from the soil as nutrients for their growth
This can help reduce the impact of agricultural runoff
Ecosystem services: ecosystems provide services that help manage pollution, such as:
Carbon sequestration: plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in their tissues, reducing greenhouse gases
Water filtration: wetlands and forests filter pollutants from water before they enter rivers, lakes, or oceans, improving water quality
For example, salt marshes along coastlines can absorb pollutants like heavy metals and excess nutrients
This reduces the flow of these substances into the ocean, protecting marine ecosystems
Limits to ecosystem absorption
Overloading ecosystems: when pollutants are added at a faster rate than ecosystems can process them, pollution occurs
For example:
Excess CO2: while forests can absorb CO2, human activities like deforestation reduce the number of trees
This limits their ability to manage rising CO2 levels
Eutrophication: wetlands can absorb nutrients, but when agricultural runoff contains too much nitrogen and phosphorus, these ecosystems become overloaded
This leads to water pollution and eutrophication
Biodegradability and half-lives
The term biodegradability refers to how quickly natural processes can break down a substance into harmless components
Biodegradable materials: substances like paper and food waste decompose quickly
This is because bacteria and other organisms break them down into harmless materials
Non-biodegradable materials: substances like plastic, glass or synthetic chemicals do not break down easily
They can remain in the environment for hundreds or thousands of years
Half-lives: this concept refers to the time it takes for half of a substance to decay or break down
Some pollutants, especially chemicals or radioactive materials, have long half-lives, meaning they remain dangerous in the environment for extended periods
Long half-lives: pollutants like pesticides (e.g. DDT) or radioactive waste have long half-lives
They persist in ecosystems for years or decades
For example, DDT has a half-life of around 15 years, meaning it can stay in the soil and water for decades, affecting wildlife, food chains and whole ecosystems
Short half-lives: substances like organic waste decompose quickly
This reduces their environmental impact
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