Air, water and land pollution have been plaguing us for centuries. It is because in the past we did not have the knowledge and the resources to stop ourselves from polluting the environment. But as we realised how destructive throwing garbage anywhere has been on the environment and for our health, we started to be more conscious of what we put out into the environment. Metals are part of our everyday lives, and when we no longer need them, we dispose of them. Ever wonder what happens to metals when they end up in landfills and not in recycling centres?
Heavy metals are poisonous
Heavy metals include gold, iron, copper, silver, mercury, lead and tin, to name a few. We can see these heavy metals in our everyday lives. They are present in the things that we use, such as in cars, jewellery, batteries and so much more. What happens to these heavy metals when we no longer use them? We dispose of them, and they end up in landfills. If you want to be more responsible disposing of your metal garbage, you can take iron and copper to a scrap yard Scunthorpe offers that will take care of them the right way. You must keep in mind that heavy metals are highly poisonous and mishandling them can be very dangerous.
How heavy metals poison the soil
When we throw heavy metals such as batteries that contain mercury in landfills or just about anywhere else, they can seep into the ground and poison it. When soil gets poisoned with heavy metals, chances are it will contaminate other things in the soil too, such as plants.
Can heavy metals contaminate the food we eat?
Yes, they can. Although plants need heavy metals to grow, more than the required amount will be harmful to them. When a huge concentration of heavy metals is in agricultural soil, it will contaminate the plants grown in it. The plants that we eat end up on our plates, together with the heavy metals. When we unknowingly consume plants that have high levels of heavy metals, it will have an adverse effect on our health.
How we can help clean up
There are many ways to help clean up the mess we make every single day. Segregating our trash at home is the first thing that we can do. We should dispose of batteries and other items that contain heavy metals in the right way. We should not mix them with other trash that decomposes in landfills, as these heavy metals do not decay for a very long time. We can take them to a recycling centre so that they can still repurpose our used metals into useful things.
We should be more responsible for using things that may damage the environment. We should avoid, as much as possible, using things that we can do without that will not decompose for thousands of years. Otherwise, we must recycle our metal scraps for use in making other things.
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