Pollution

Update 14 split ground pollution into four separate kinds, each tracked in its own layer of the world and each pointing at a different culprit. This guide lists every block on this server that pollutes the ground, the waste that pollutes only while it sits mixed, and how air pollution feeds back to the ground as acid rain.

The four kinds of ground pollution

• Soil — dumped garbage and biowaste rotting on the ground. The everyday kind: mixed garbage blocks left in the open feed this layer. (1 block)
• Heavy Mineral — mining leftovers: tailings and crushed-rock waste. If this layer is climbing, look at a mine or an ore-processing yard. (2 blocks)
• Chemical — industrial waste from modern industry. The nastiest to host and the strongest argument for sorting and proper storage. (2 blocks)
• Acid Rain — fallout from AIR pollution. It arrives from the sky, not from a block on the ground — the only fix is burning less and scrubbing smokestacks.

Each kind settles into its own world layer, poisons soil fertility under and around it, and clears only when its source is removed. Because every layer is separate, the map tells you WHO to talk to: soil points at dumped garbage, heavy mineral at miners, chemical at industry, acid rain at whatever is smoking.

Blocks that pollute the ground

Ground-polluting blocks

Bloc	Kind	Montant
Polluant chimique	Chemical	0.1
Déchets chimiques	Chemical	0.1
Résidus	Heavy Mineral	0.1
Résidus humides	Heavy Mineral	0.1
Déchets	Soil	0.1

Amounts are per placed block, from each block's [PolluteGround] declaration — see a block's own page for its mining and material data.

Waste that pollutes while it sits mixed

A mixed garbage block pollutes for every polluting material still inside it. Sorting a material OUT removes its share on the spot — sorted outputs are clean, and only the residuals keep polluting. That makes the sorter itself a cleanup machine.

Garbage materials that pollute while mixed

Matériel	Kind	Per unit in a mix
Déchets chimiques	Chemical	0.1
Déchets électroniques	Chemical	0.1
Déchets plastiques	Chemical	0.1
Polluant chimique	Chemical	0.1
Mixed Residuals	Heavy Mineral	0.12
Résidus	Heavy Mineral	0.1
Résidus humides	Heavy Mineral	0.1
Déchets de céramique	Soil	0.1
Mélange de pierres concassées	Soil	0.1
Déchets de verre	Soil	0.1
Débris de cuivre	Soil	0.1
Débris d'or	Soil	0.1
Ferraille	Soil	0.1
Déchets	Soil	0.1

How sorting and recycling work →

Air pollution (and where acid rain comes from)

Burning fuel puts smog into the air. Air pollution warms the climate — and since Update 14 it also falls back down as the Acid Rain ground layer, so a smoky skyline eventually shows up in the dirt.

Biggest air polluters

Machine	Air pollution
Incinérateur	7.2 ppm/h
Raffinerie de pétrole	3.4 ppm/h
Machine à vapeur	3.4 ppm/h
Générateur électrique à combustion	2.9 ppm/h
Générateur électrique industriel	2.9 ppm/h
Haut fourneau	2.4 ppm/h
Four à ciment	2.4 ppm/h
Cuisinière	1 ppm/h
Pelleteuse	0.7 ppm/h
Bac industriel	0.7 ppm/h
Scorpion	0.7 ppm/h
Bulldozer	0.5 ppm/h

The heaviest air polluters on this server, from each machine's own emission rate.

More Update 14 guides

• Garbage & Recycling — Where waste comes from, how the sorting ladder works, and how to get it hauled away.
• Amélioration — The reworked module system: Basic / Advanced / Modern / Specialty slots, star costs, and what every module does.