Adverse impacts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from the landfill sites into the atmosphere is a major concern in most urban areas. There exist a limited information on the effects of VOCs emitted from open dumpsite particularly for tropical climatic conditions. The present study reviews the source, concentrations and pathways of VOCs released from landfill sites into air and summarises their impacts on surrounding environment and nearby residents. Further, it provides insight on generation of secondary pollutants due to photochemical reactions between the VOCs released from landfill sites and compounds already existing in troposphere. VOCs released from landfill sites can undergo photochemical reactions with the hydroxyl radicals and NOx present in the troposphere to form O3 secondary organic aerosols (SOA) and intermediate products, which can deteriorate the air quality. Nevertheless, studies using mathematical simulation augmented by suitable laboratory experiments and continuous monitoring data can aid in detailed analysis on the mechanism of the secondary pollutant formation by VOCs emitted from the landfill sites. Findings of this study will open new avenue of research for further investigations on pathways of photochemical reactions of VOCs released from the landfill sites leading to secondary pollutant formation in proximate surface environment. © 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers