The Five Dirtiest Industries

Which industries do the most damage to the environment?

By Popular Science Team

Updated on Jun 8, 2021 9:44 AM EDT

Construction Site
Putting up all those new shops, condos and schools might seem like a positive step for a community, but it has a dark, anti-green underbelly. It's estimated the industry contributes about 4 percent of all particle pollution to the atmosphere and has a tendency to dump solvents and chemicals in local waterways. Add to that the fact that very few materials from demolitions are recycled and the use of sustainable lumber is still not standard, and the building trade ranks as one of the worst. Poagao (CC Licensed)

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What are the dirtiest industries? Sometimes the most innocuous-seeming are the worst culprits. PopSci takes a look inside five of the sectors most responsible for unleashing destruction upon the planet.

And check out PopSci‘s complete coverage of the future of the environment at popsci.com/futurecity.

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