CONCEPT: Pollutants

Pollutants: In social and cultural contexts, pollutants are those potentially or actually harmful (or negatively tagged) substances or materials -- or wastes -- which inadvertently or by design “mix” or variously remix with, and thus compromise the environment in general, or more specifically the cultural, aesthetic, practical or other utility of substances, materials or situations of value to discrete publics. Their unchecked accumulation can hit a critical-mass point at which they cause emergencies and even disasters in specific localities; and does, in fact, frequently do so.

Elliott (1994: 27) observes, correctly, that “All productive activities make demands on the resource base in terms of the raw materials on which they draw. In addition, all such activities involve some waste generation. These are termed the 'externalities' of production." She admits that not all production, and not all its 'externalities' harm the environment. 

A considerable amount of waste can indeed be recycled. The opportunity to do so also seems to be increasing with time, as the requisite knowledge accumulates and cost-effective ways of leveraging them become more widely available and within physical reach. Thus, as the saying goes, one person's waste is a venturesome producer's raw material. 

However, pollutants or wastes that "do endanger human health, harm ecosystems or interfere with other legitimate uses of the environment are termed ‘pollutants’” (Elliott, 1994: 27). Clearly, pollutants are the cause of pollution. The former are 'substances'; the latter a consequence, an effect -- or a condition. 

READ: Pollution