23 Solid and Hazardous Waste. Overview of Chapter 23 Solid Waste Waste Prevention Reducing the Amount of Waste Reusing Products Recycling Materials

23 Solid and Hazardous Waste

Overview of Chapter 23

Solid Waste Waste Prevention

Reducing the Amount of Waste Reusing Products Recycling Materials

Hazardous Waste Types of Hazardous Waste Management of Hazardous Waste

© 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Solid Waste

US generates more solid waste per capita than any other country 1.98kg (4.34lb) per person per day 243 million tons in 2009 (down from 2007)

Waste generation is highest in developed countries Instead of repairing items, they are replaced


Types of Solid Waste

Municipal solid waste Solid material discarded by homes, office

buildings, retail stores, schools, etc. (changes over years….now more paper and plastic)

Relatively small portion of solid waste produced Non-municipal solid waste

Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining


Composition of Municipal Solid Waste


Open Dumps

Open Dumps Open, unregulated dumps are still the

predominant method of waste disposal in developing countries.Most developed countries forbid open

dumping.

Disposal of Solid Waste

Four methods to get rid of waste Sanitary Landfills (bury it) Incineration (burn it) Dump it Compost it (Recycling)


Sanitary Landfill

Compacting and burying waste under a shallow layer of soil. (54% of solid waste)

Most common method of disposal Dirt takes up as much as 20% of landfill space. Since 1994, all operating landfills in the US have been required to

control hazardous substances Problems

Methane gas production by microorganisms Contamination of surface water & ground water by leachate Not a long-term remedy Few new facilities being opened Closing a full landfill is very expensive


Sanitary Landfill


Exporting Waste

Although most industrialized nations have agreed to stop shipping hazardous and toxic waste to less-developed countries, the practice still continues.

Garbage imperialism also operates in wealthier countries.

Indian reservations increasingly being approached to store wastes on reservations.

Sanitary Landfill

Special Problem: Plastic Much of plastic is from packaging Chemically stable and do not readily break down

and decompose Special Problem:

Tires Made from materials

that cannot be recycled

Can be incinerated or shredded


Incineration

Two positive things come from incineration:

Volume of solid waste reduced by 90%

Produces heat that can make steam to generate electricity Produce less carbon emissions than fossil fuel

power plants Byproduct

Bottom ash Fly ash


Types of incinerators

Mass burn is a large furnace that burns all solid waste except for unburnable items such as refrigerators. Recover energy. Creates air pollution problems.

Modular incinerators are smaller incinerators that burn all solid waste. They are located at factories and so are less expensive to build.

Refuse-derived fuel- is where only the combustible portion of solid waste is burned. Refuse is sorted to remove recyclable and unburnable materials.

Higher energy content than raw trash.


Incineration and Resource Recovery

Energy Recovery - Heat derived from incinerated refuse is a useful resource. Steam used for heating buildings or generating

electricity.

Mass burn , waste to energy incineration

Mass burn (below), Modular, Refuse-derived


Incineration - Problems

Production of hazardous air pollutants Carbon monoxide, particulates, heavy metals Reduced by

Lime Scrubbers Electrostatic Precipitators

Byproduct - Bottom ash and Fly ash Must be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills


Composting

Municipal Solid Waste Composting Includes: Food scraps, Sewage sludge,

Agricultural manure, Yard waste Reduces yard waste in landfills Can be sold or distributed to community


Waste Prevention

Three Goals1. Reduce the amount of waste

2. Reuse products

3. Recycle materials


Reducing Waste

Purchase products with less packaging


Reducing Waste

Source reduction Products designed and manufactured to decrease

the volume of solid waste Reuse and recycle wastes at the plant where they

are generated Pollution Prevention Act (1990) Dematerialization

Progressive decrease in the size and weight of a product as a result of technological improvements


Reusing Products

Refilling glass beverage bottles used to be standard Heavier glass required in reusable glass bottles-

costs more to make and transport Cheaper to use lightweight, non-reusable glass

Japan recycles almost all bottles Reused 20 times

11 US States have deposits on cans and bottles to promote reuse


Recycling Materials

Every ton of recycled paper saves: 17 trees 7000 gallons of water 4100 kwatt-hrs of energy 3 cubic yards of landfill space

Recycle Glass bottles, newspapers, steel cans, plastic

bottles, cardboard, office paper


Recycling

US recycles 38% of Municipal Solid Waste

Recycling Paper US recycles 62.1% This has increased due to

consumer demand for recycled paper products

Recycling Glass US recycles 25% Costs producers less than

new glass (right)


Recycling

Recycling Aluminum Making new can from recycled one costs far less

than making a brand new one (economic incentive)

51% of aluminum was recycled in 2009 Recycling Metals other than Aluminum

Lead, gold, iron, steel, silver and zinc Metallic composition is often unknown

Makes recycling difficult


Recycling

Recycling Plastic 14% of all plastic is recycled

(2009) Less expensive to make from

raw materials 28% of PET in water and

soda bottles is recycled Most plastic containers are

made of many types of plastic that must be separated to be recycled


Recycling

Recycling Tires Few products are made from old tires

Playground equipment Trashcans Garden hose Carpet Roofing materials


Integrated Waste Management


Hazardous Waste

Any discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment Reactive, corrosive,

explosive or toxic chemicals

1% of waste stream in US

Love Canal Toxic Waste Site


Hazardous Waste


Hazardous Waste

Dioxin Formed as byproduct of combustion of chlorine

compounds Bioaccumulate and biomagnify through foodweb Cause cancer, effect reproductive, immune and

nervous system PCBs

Used as cooling fluid, fire retardant, lubricator Disposed of in open dumps, sewers and fields in 1970s -

issue in groundwater today Endocrine disrupter


Case-In-Point Hanford Nuclear Reservation


Management of Hazardous Waste

Chemical accidents National Response Center notified Typically involves oil, gasoline or other petroleum spill

Current Management Policies Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976, 1984)

(RCRA) Comprehensive program requiring rigorous testing and

management of toxic and hazardous substances Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

and Liability Act (1980) CERCLA Commonly known as Superfund


Superfund Program

Pesticides dumps Piles of mining wastes

Must be cleaned up 2011 - over 11,000

sites on list

Cleaning up existing hazardous waste: 400,000 waste sites Leaking chemical storage tanks and drums

(below)


CERCLA

Government does not have to prove anyone violated a law, or what role they played in a superfund site. Liability under CERCLA is “strict, joint, and

several”, meaning anyone associated with a site can be held responsible for the entire clean-up cost.


Superfund National Priorities List 2011: 1,290 sites on the list

States with the greatest number of sites New Jersey (112)

Pennsylvania (95)

California (94)

New York (87)

Michigan (67)


Brownfield

Contaminated properties that have been abandoned or are not being used up to potential because of pollution concerns. Up to one-third of all commercial industrial sites in

urban core of many big cities fall into this category. In many cases, property owners complain that

unreasonably high purity levels are demanded in remediation programs.


Biological Treatment of Hazardous Chemicals Bioremediation - use of bacteria and other

microorganisms to break down hazardous waste into relatively harmless products 1000 species of bacteria and fungi Time consuming Inexpensive

Phytoremediation- use of plants to absorb and accumulate hazardous materials in the soil Ex: Indian mustard removes heavy metals


Examples of Phytoremediation



1. Source reduction

2. Conversion to less hazardous materials

3. Long-term storage


Hazardous Waste Landfill


Documents

23 Solid and Hazardous Waste. Overview of Chapter 23 Solid Waste Waste Prevention Reducing the Amount of Waste Reusing Products Recycling Materials