03 Point and non-point sources of pollution

In class we looked at point and non-point sources of pollution. You should be able to define point and non-point sources as well as identify examples.

• Point sources of pollution are clear sources that put significant quantities of pollution into the water from one place. They are easy to identify as the source of pollution (e.g. a chemical factory, a single large cattle farm, a large dump site, etc)

• Non-point sources of pollution are not easily identifiable sources. In this case you may have an idea of the general area that the pollution comes from, but the individual contributors to the pollution are not clear. (e.g. a small town with lots of sewage outlets or gardens, an area of agriculture made of many small farms all farming in different ways, etc)

An excellent example of a non-point source of pollution is the masses of plastic pollutants that have entered the oceans.

We investigated the problem of plastic pollution by recreating the work some scientists are doing in examining the 

Some people have taken water filtering to the extreme! Watch this video to find out more...

Have a look at what is happening here in Tanzania.