The protection of the environment is our common task. All pollution that exposes our soils, plants or the environment – as taken in any proper or extended sense – will appear sooner or later in the food chain and in human beings who are on the top of the food-chain pyramid. The aim of our work is to give a brief overview of the effects of selected industrial wastes on the physiological parameters of corn plants. Sewage sludge and lime sludge were examined. These materials contain lots of useful element for plants (e.g. iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc). However, their aluminum, chrome and lithium contents are also considerable. The element contents in sewage sludge and the filtrates of lime sludge, as well as the dry matter accumulation and relative chlorophyll contents, were measured. The disadvantageous and advantageous physiological effects of the examined materials were confirmed. The compensation effect of the environment is excluded; however, the neutralization of environmental impacts is not infinite under natural circumstances.