Solid and Hazardous

Waste

Chapter 24

Solid Waste Footprint

US = 4.4 lbs per person per day

229 million tons per year

Solid Waste

Types of Solid Waste Paper andPaperboard

Yard Waste

Food Waste

Plastics

Metals

Rubber, leather, &textiles

Glass

Wood

Other

Solid Waste

Disposal of Solid Waste

SanitaryLandfills

Recycling

Incineration

Sanitary Landfills

Problems Associated with Sanitary Landfills

• Methane gas production

• Surface water / ground water contamination

• Not a long-term remedy

• Even when closed, considerable cost

Mass Burn Incinerator

Incineration of Solid Waste

CO2 emissions per kwatt-hour of electricity production

Problems Associated with Incineration

• Always some air pollution

• Produce large amounts of ash

• Site selection often controversial

• NIMBY

Industrial Composting

• Reduces yard waste in landfills

• Can be sold or distributed to community

The Three R’s

Three goals:

1) Reduce

2) Reuse

3) Recycle

Reducing the Amount of Waste

Pollution Prevention Act (1990)

Dematerialization - cans/toasters

Reusing The Waste

Reusing Products

• Refilling glass beverage bottles

Recycling The WasteSolid waste produced by average family of four in one year in US

Recycling into What?

The Special Problem of Plastic

• Shear amount is staggering

• Do not readily breakdown

• Chemical Complexity

Plastics have large macromolecules.

When different types of plastics are melted together they tend to phase-separate, like oil and water, and set in these layers. The phase boundaries cause structural weakness in the resulting material.

Another barrier to recycling is the widespread use of dyes, fillers, and other additives in plastics. Additives are less used in beverage containers and plastic bags, allowing them to be recycled.

The Special Problem of TiresUsing Old Tires

• Crumb Recycling

• Incineration

• Retreads

• Low Grade Rubber

Bottle Bills

Energy Savings

Bauxite

Waste Prevention

Integrated Waste Management

Voluntary Simplicity

Organic ManGranola ManEnvironmental Man

E-Waste1999 average lifespan of a computer 4-6 years.

2005 it dropped to less than 2 years.

Personal computers contain toxic heavy metals such as barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, nickel and lead.

All of these materials are regulated by the EPA.

Waste = FoodVoluntary Simplicity on an industrial scale1.Proprietary - Plastics and many containers are

an amalgamation of materials2.An ounce of prevention is worth?

Pollution Prevention Act 1990Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.

Under this initiative, EPA focuses on an industry-by-industry approach rather than a pollutant-by-pollutant approach to regulatory policy.

Hazardous Waste

Examples:

Hazardous Waste

Management of Hazardous Waste

• Cleaning Up Existing Toxic Waste: The Superfund Program

Old toxic waste dump site

Cleanup

Super Fund

Superfund National Priorities List (2002)

1234 sites currently listed

259 removed from list

20081255 - Sites Listed332 - Delisted63 New sites proposed

Superfund$$$

1. Common name for: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

2. A response to “The Love Canal”

3. Where does the money come from?• 70% parties responsible pay cleanup• 30% payed for by a tax on chemical and oil

companies

The Biological Treatment of Hazardous Contaminants

- Bioremediation

- Phytoremediation

Management of Hazardous Waste

1) Source reduction

2) Conversion to less hazardous materials

3) Long-term storage

Hazardous waste landfill

Environmental Justice

• Environmental Justice and Ethical Issues

Rights of poor/ Minorities / disenfranchised vs. rights of rich & powerful

• Mandating Environmental Justice at the Federal Level