Waste Management — I: Impact of Waste Accumulation

ICSE Class 10 · Geography · Chapter 19

What this chapter covers

Waste and its sources
Why waste accumulates in India
Impact of waste accumulation: spoilage of landscape
Impact of waste accumulation: pollution
Impact of waste accumulation: health hazards
Need for waste management
Understanding key terms
Common mistakes to avoid

Key points

Waste is any material no longer useful to its producer and thrown away; it comes from homes, industries, farms, shops, hospitals and electronic goods.
Biodegradable waste is broken down by decomposers; non-biodegradable waste, such as plastic and metal, persists and accumulates.
Population growth, urbanisation, changing lifestyles, industry, modern farming and weak collection make waste accumulate in India.
Accumulated waste spoils the landscape: open dumps occupy land, litter blocks drains, and debris fills lakes and wetlands.
Accumulated waste pollutes soil (leachate, heavy metals, plastic), water (sewage, effluents, high BOD) and air (open burning, dump fires, stubble smoke).
Waste is a health hazard: it breeds flies, rats and mosquitoes, contaminates drinking water, fouls the air and exposes workers to toxic and biomedical waste.
Waste management is needed to protect health, prevent pollution, save land, conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gases, protect wildlife and support the economy.
Global warming is the rise in Earth's average temperature due to extra greenhouse gases; dumps add methane.
Acid rain forms when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water vapour to form acids.
Eutrophication is nutrient over-enrichment of water, leading to algal blooms and loss of oxygen.
Biomagnification is the rise in concentration of a non-biodegradable poison at each higher level of a food chain.
Thermal pollution is the harmful heating of a water body by hot water discharged from power plants and industries.

Questions answered

Define waste and give one example each of domestic, industrial and biomedical waste.

Waste is any material that is no longer useful to the person or activity that produced it and is thrown away. Domestic: vegetable peels; industrial: fly ash; biomedical: used syringes.

Distinguish between biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste with two examples of each.

Biodegradable waste is broken down by decomposers into harmless substances in a short time (food scraps, paper). Non-biodegradable waste cannot be broken down, or only over hundreds of years (plastic bags, glass bottles).

State three reasons why waste is accumulating in Indian cities.

Rapid urbanisation and population growth; increased use of packaged goods and single-use plastics; inadequate collection and treatment, so much waste is dumped untreated in open grounds.

What is leachate? Why is it dangerous?

Leachate is the foul liquid formed when water percolates through waste and carries dissolved and suspended harmful substances out of it. It seeps into soil and groundwater, polluting drinking water with metals, chemicals and germs.

Give two ways in which accumulated waste spoils the landscape.

Open dumps grow into large mounds that occupy valuable land and lower property values; dumping of debris fills lakes and wetlands, destroying their beauty and their ability to absorb floodwater.

Why do fish die in a river that receives large amounts of untreated sewage?

Bacteria decomposing the organic matter in sewage use up the dissolved oxygen in the water, so the BOD rises and fish suffocate.

Name two diseases spread by flies and two by mosquitoes. How does garbage help each to spread?

Flies spread cholera and typhoid; they feed on garbage and carry germs to food. Mosquitoes spread malaria and dengue; they breed in rainwater collected in discarded tyres and containers.

Why is e-waste considered a health hazard?

E-waste contains toxic metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium. When it is burnt or treated with acid in unsafe workshops, workers breathe fumes and handle poisons that damage the nerves, kidneys and lungs, and the metals pollute soil and water.

Past board exam questions

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 1 mark

Which of the following bags will take the longest time to degenerate and degrade?

Cloth bag
Jute bag
Paper bag
Plastic bag

Show answer

Plastic bag

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 2 marks

What is the significance of ‘Reduce’ in the 3R’s of sustainable waste management?

Show answer

Any two: reducing waste prevents its accumulation and harmful effects; it saves valuable natural resources; it decreases pollution; it reduces emission of greenhouse gases.

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 3 marks

(a) Name any two items of daily use that can be recycled. (b) Explain two ways in which recycling is beneficial for the environment.

Show answer

(a) Any two: newspapers / waste paper, glass bottles, plastic items, metal cans. (b) Any two: it conserves natural resources (fewer trees cut, less mining); it reduces the accumulation of waste in landfills; it reduces pollution of air, water and land and saves energy.

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 3 marks

State three measures that can be taken at the household level to reduce solid waste generation.

Show answer

Any three: segregate waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable at source; reuse items such as bottles, jars and bags; avoid single-use plastics and use cloth/jute bags; compost kitchen waste; buy only what is needed and use resources judiciously.

ICSE 2026 board paper · 1 mark

Which of the following is NOT suitable for composting?

Fruit peels
Egg shells
Neem soap
Used tea leaves

Show answer

Neem soap

ICSE 2026 sample paper · 1 mark

Which of the following methods of disposal is best applicable for the waste depicted in the picture below: [Picture: a broken glass tumbler lying on its side, with shattered pieces of glass.]

Burning waste in an open area
Recycling waste
Dumping
Composting

Show answer

Recycling waste

ICSE 2026 sample paper · 2 marks

Study the picture given below and answer the questions that follow: [Picture: a truck tipping a load of mixed garbage onto a huge open heap of waste spread over the ground; people walk over the garbage mound.] (a) Name the method of waste disposal seen in the picture. (b) Why is this method considered a harmful method of waste disposal?

Show answer

(a) Dumping (open dumping of waste). (b) Any two: it pollutes the soil and the underground water; it spreads diseases; it gives off a foul odour; it attracts flies, pests and rodents.

ICSE 2026 sample paper · 3 marks

Fire broke out at the Kochi city waste treatment plant. Thick clouds of toxic smoke engulfed the city. The waste at the plant also contained plastic and biomedical wastes, both of which on combustion are extremely harmful for the general health of people. — Economic Times, 10.03.2023 (a) Which method of waste management would have helped in reducing health hazards in the above case? (b) Mention any one measure you can adopt in schools to reduce waste. (c) State one way in which domestic waste can be made useful.

Show answer

(a) Segregation of waste at source — keeping plastic and biomedical waste apart from other waste (and disposing of them separately). (b) Any one: reuse old notebooks as rough books / pass textbooks to juniors / avoid single-use plastics / compost canteen waste / send paper for recycling. (c) Any one: kitchen waste can be turned into compost; old clothes can be made into doormats or covers; glass bottles can be reused.