More people require more resources, which means that as the population increases, the Earth’s resources deplete more rapidly. The result of this depletion is deforestation and loss of biodiversity as humans strip the Earth of resources to accommodate rising population numbers

1. Environmental issues emerging from
increase in population
The current population of the Earth is over 7.6 billion people and growing. It
could reach 8 billion by 2025, 9 billion by 2040, and a whopping 11 billion by
2100. Population is growing rapidly, far outpacing the ability of our planet to
support it, given current practices.
Overpopulation is associated with negative environmental and economic
outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and
water pollution to eutrophication and global warming. While a lot of positive
steps are being taken to better ensure the sustainability of humans on our
planet, the problem of having too many people has made lasting solutions
more challenging to find.
Overpopulation, Briefly Defined
The term overpopulation is used to describe a situation in which the world or
area has a population so large that the people there are suffering as a result.
In other words, the population exceeds the region or planet's carrying
capacity--the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that can be
supported without environmental degradation. Their suffering may include a
shortage of food, limited access to healthcare and other public services,
overcrowding, and high unemployment.
Populations and Environmental Issues
More people require more resources, which means that as the population
increases, the Earth’s resources deplete more rapidly. The result of this
depletion is deforestation and loss of biodiversity as humans strip the

2. Earth of resources to accommodate rising population numbers. Population
growth also results in increased greenhouse gases, mostly from
CO2 emissions. For visualization, during that same 20th century that saw
fourfold population growth, CO2 emissions increased twelvefold. As
greenhouse gases increase, so do climate patterns, ultimately resulting in
the long-term pattern called climate change.
The relationship between overpopulation and environmental impacts are
often interrelated and complex. Below are some of the key sustainability
challenges associated with overpopulation.
The Biggest Impacts-
Farming impacts
A growing agricultural base to feed an expanding world population comes
with its own complications. As the global population increases, more food is
needed. Such measures may be met through more intensive farming, or
through deforestation to create new farm lands, which in turn can have
negative outcomes. Agriculture is responsible for about 80 percent of
deforestation, worldwide.
The yield of existing farmland can be increased through intensive farming to
feed our rapidly growing population. This approach is characterized by
reliance on mechanization, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Such practices
can be associated with soil erosion or depletion. According to the World
Wildlife Fund, the land used and abandoned in the last 50 years globally may
be equal to the amount of land used today. As well, the agricultural runoff of
excess fertilizers is one of the main causes of eutrophication, which depletes
waters from oxygen and results in significant negative impacts for marine
life.

3. Deforestation
Deforestation in turn leads to a reduced ability to capture CO2, thus
exasperating the greenhouse gas problem. Tropical rainforests in South
America are responsible for producing 20 percent of the Earth's oxygen.
Deforestation is also strongly associated with loss of habitat and extinctions.
Agriculture responsible for about 80% of global deforestation. Another 14
percent is attributed to logging, 5 percent to firewood collection, and the
balance resulting from other causes.
Human population increase is related to all of these deforestation pressures.
More people means we need more food, more wood products, and more
firewood.
Eutrophication
Agricultural runoff is one of the main causes of eutrophication, the presence
of excessive nutrients in bodies of water, such as large pockets like the Dead
Zone of the Gulf of Mexico. Worldwide, there are more than 400 marine
'dead zones' caused by eutrophication, collectively covering an area six
times the size of Switzerland.
Eutrophication causes the dense growth of plant life that consumes oxygen,
resulting in the death of aquatic animals. Other major sources of
eutrophication are industry and sewage disposal--both related to population
growth. The cost of mediating eutrophication in Recent research points out
that there are other important impacts other than food production, such as
clothing and manufactured good production. Cotton or linen production, for
example, can involve direct agricultural impacts associated with growing
crops. The use of fossil fuel for electrical production to power factories also

4. creates NO2 emissions, which can ultimately be absorbed by oceans to
increase their nutrient load.
Loss of Fresh Water
While there is plenty of water on the planet, it is very much a scarce
resource. Only 2.5 percent of water resources are fresh water, and just a
small fraction of that is available as unpolluted drinking water.
One of the byproducts of population growth has been stress on freshwater
supplies. "Water stressed" is defined as a case of demand exceeding the
supply of suitable water available. According to one report, around 15
percent of the world's population lived in "water stressed" regions , the
amount has been projected to reach 50 percent by 2030. Another
commentator expects 2/3 of the world's population to be living with water
shortages by 2025, which he attributes to population growth. Also consider
that population growth is most rapid in part of the world where water is in
high demand already, such as Africa, Southeast, Southwest, and Central
Asia, and Oceania.
Global Warming
Human population growth and climate change have grown hand in hand as
the use of fossil fuels has exploded to support industrialized societies. "More
people means more demand for oil, gas, coal and other fuels mined or drilled
from below the Earth’s surface that, when burned, spew enough carbon
dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere to trap warm air inside like a greenhouse.
Most fossil fuel consumption comes from developed countries. It is a
sobering thought that most developing nations aspire to similar industrial
economies as they experience economic growth, which further escalates CO2
emissions into the atmosphere.

5. Loss of biodiversity
All of the previously described effects of overpopulation on the environment
lead to the destruction of the natural habitat of many wildlife species. The
natural flora and fauna have been under constant pressure to adapt to a
quickly changing environment. Since they have been unable to do so, they
have been displaced from their natural ecological niche. The constant
clearing of the Amazon forest has had devastating effect on many rare
tropical species. It has been estimated that 10% of the species in the region
have become extinct

6. Solid Waste Management and measures to
control it
What Is Solid Waste Management?
Solid waste management is defined as the discipline associated with control
of generation, storage, collection, transport or transfer, processing and
disposal of solid waste materials in a way that best addresses the range of
public health, conservation, economic, aesthetic, engineering, and other
environmental considerations.
In its scope, solid waste management includes planning, administrative,
financial, engineering, and legal functions. Solutions might include complex
inter-disciplinary relations among fields such as public health, city and
regional planning, political science, geography, sociology, economics,
communication and conservation, demography, engineering, and material
sciences.
Solid waste management practices can differ for residential and industrial
producers, for urban and rural areas, and for developed and developing
nations. The administration of non-hazardous waste in metropolitan areas is
the job of local government authorities. On the other hand, the management
of hazardous waste materials is typically the responsibility of those who
generate it, as subject to local, national, and even international authorities.
Objectives of Waste Management
The primary goal of solid waste management is reducing and eliminating
adverse impacts of waste materials on human health and the environment to

7. support economic development and superior quality of life. This is to be done
in the most efficient manner possible, to keep costs low and prevent waste
buildup.
6 Functional Elements of the Waste Management System
There are six functional components of the waste management system, as
outlined below:
1. Waste generation: This encompasses any activities involved in
identifying materials that are no longer usable and are either gathered
for systematic disposal or thrown away.
2. Onsite handling, storage, and processing: This relates to activities
at the point of waste generation, which facilitate easier collection. For
example, waste bins are placed at sites that generate sufficient waste.
3. Waste collection: A crucial phase of waste management, this
includes activities such as placing waste collection bins, collecting
waste from those bins, and accumulating trash in the location where
the collection vehicles are emptied. Although the collection phase
involves transportation, this is typically not the main stage of waste
transportation.
4. Waste transfer and transport: These are the activities involved in
moving waste from the local waste collection locations to the regional
waste disposal site in large waste transport vehicles.
5. Waste processing and recovery: This refers to the facilities,
equipment, and techniques employed to recover reusable or recyclable
materials from the waste stream and to improve the effectiveness of
other functional elements of waste management.
6. Disposal: The final stage of waste management. It involves the
activities aimed at the systematic disposal of waste materials in
locations such as landfills or waste-to-energy facilities.

8. Methods of Solid Waste Management
There are different methods of solid waste management. The following are
some of the recognized methods:
Sanitary Landfill
This is the most popular solid waste disposal method used today. Garbage is
basically spread out in thin layers, compressed and covered with soil or
plastic foam. Modern landfills are designed in such a way that the bottom of
the landfill is covered with an impervious liner which is usually made of
several layers of thick plastic and sand. This liner protects the ground water
from being contaminated because of leaching or percolation. When the
landfill is full, it is covered with layers of sand, clay, top soil and gravel to
prevent seepage of water.
Incineration
This method involves burning of solid wastes at high temperatures until the
wastes are turned into ashes. Incinerators are made in such a way that they
do not give off extreme amounts of heat when burning solid wastes. This
method of solid waste management can be done by individuals,
municipalities and even institutions. The good thing about this method is the
fact that it reduces the volume of waste up to 20 or 30% of the original
volume.

9. Recovery and Recycling
Recycling or recovery of resources is the process of taking useful but
discarded items for next use. Traditionally, these items are processed and
cleaned before they are recycled. The process aims at reducing energy loss,
consumption of new material and reduction of landfills.
Composting
Due to lack of adequate space for landfills, biodegradable yard waste is
allowed to decompose in a medium designed for the purpose. Only
biodegradable waste materials are used in composting. Good
quality environmentally friendly manure is formed from the compost and can
be used for agricultural purposes.
Pyrolysis
This is method of solid waste management whereby solid wastes are
chemically decomposed by heat without presence of oxygen. This usually
occurs under pressure and at temperatures of up to 430 degrees Celsius.
The solid wastes are changed into gasses, solid residue and small quantities
of liquid.
In summary, proper solid waste management is an integral part of
environmental conservation that should be observed by individuals and
companies globally. This will keep the environment clean and reduce health
and settlement problems.