TRP Chapter 2.2 1

Chapter 2.2Generation, sources and types

of hazardous wastes

TRP Chapter 2.2 2

The need for information

Need to identify:

• generators

• hazardous waste quantities

• types

• current treatment and disposal methods

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Hazardous waste generators

All industries generate some hazardous waste

The largest quantities come from five sectors:

• Chemical and pharmaceutical manufacture

• Metals refining

• Petroleum and coal products

• Metal working and fabrication

• Rubber and plastics manufacture

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Some common wastes and industrial sources

• Flammable eg solvents - from chemical manufacturers, laundries & dry cleaners, metal plating, tanneries, print shops etc

• Corrosive eg acids and alkalis - from cleaning & maintenance, equipment repair, vehicle body shops etc

• Reactive eg bleaches and oxidisers - from chemical manufacturers, laboratories etc

• Toxic and eco-toxic eg heavy metals, pesticides, cyanides from metals manufacturing, photographic processing, pesticide end users etc

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Waste generating industries

Large quantity generators: > 1000kg /month eg pharmaceutical companies

Medium quantity generators: 100 - 1000kg/montheg laboratories, printers

Small quantity generators: <100kg/montheg dental surgeries, photographic processors

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Small and medium scale industries

In developing economies, these often predominate• Typically they have:

– low level of technology– unskilled management– unspecialised workers– lack of modernisation– poor environmental performance

• SMIs may account for one third of the total hazardous wastes generated

• There are high risks from occupational and environmental exposure

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The dirty dozen

• tanneries• textile dyeing plants• dyestuff producers • metal working and electroplating shops• foundries • automobile service shops and gas

stations• lead-acid battery manufacturing/recycling • chemical industries/laboratories• paint shops• printers• photographic processors• dry cleaners

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Small scale industries in developing

economies 1: Mumbai, India

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Small scale industries in developing

economies 2: Harare, Zimbabwe

• Metals fabricating, metal products and engineering 25%

• Transport and garaging 20%

• Textiles and clothing manufacture 13%

• Paper and printing 9%

• Chemical industries 6%

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Small scale industries in developing economies 3: Leon, Mexico

Estimated total annual waste load produced by the tanneries of Leon

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Small scale industries in developing

economies 4: Lima, Peru

• Textile weaving and dyeing

• Tanneries

• Clothing and shoe manufacture

• Metal products including electroplating

• Print shops

• Furniture making & wood preserving

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Some types of waste associated with different industries

Chemical manufacturersChemical process wastesAcids and alkalisSpent solventsReactive wastesDiscarded commercial chemical products

Construction industryPaint wastesSpent solventsStrong acids and bases

Vehicle maintenance shopsPaint wastesUsed oilsSpent solventsAcids and alkalis

Furniture and wood manufacturing and refinishingSpent solvents

Paint wastes

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Non-industrial waste sources

• Used motor oils• Used car batteries• Redundant agricultural pesticides and

containers• Surplus paints and solvents• Medical and health care wastes

Some examples include:

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Health care wastes•Diverse mixture of sources and waste types

•doctors’ surgeries

•hospitals

•clinics

•Only a small fraction pose risk - this can be minimised by:

•Classification of wastes into groups which can be

treated similarly

•Segregation of wastes - non-risk waste should be

disposed of with municipal waste

•Safe storage

•Treatment to reduce the pathogen content of waste

•nursing homes

•dental surgeries

•veterinary practices

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Some typical householdhazardous wastes

• Vehicle maintenance items eg antifreeze, brake fluid

• Cleaning products eg drain cleaners, spot removers, toilet cleaners, chlorine bleach, oven cleaners

• Cosmetics eg nail polish and remover

• Fire extinguishers

• Pet care products eg Flea collars and sprays

• Garden products eg herbicides, lawn chemicals, pesticides

• Insecticides and insect repellent

• Home care products eg paint and paint stripper, wood stains, solvents, swimming pool chemicals

• Prescription drugs

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Average hazardous household

waste composition

Household maintenance items (paints,

solvents, adhesives) 36.6% 63%

Household batteries 18.6 % *

Cosmetics (inc nail polish & removers) 12.1% -

Cleaners (inc polishes, oven cleaners) 11.5% 3%

Automotive items (mostly motor oil) 10.5% 27%

Garden items (inc pesticides, fertilizers) 4.1% 0.7%

Hobby (pool chemicals, art supplies) 3.4% 0.8%

Pharmaceuticals 3.2% -Fluorescent tubes, lamps etc - 5.5%* batteries are collected separately in Norway, at a rate of approx 3kg/hh/pa

USA (1997) Norway (2000)

9kg/hh/ pa 10.3kg/hh/pa

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Stockpiles of ‘old’ hazardous wastes

One major problem is the widespread existence of stockpiles of old hazardous waste materials such as:

• Obsolete pesticides

• PCB transformers

• Ozone depleting substances

• Military stockpiles

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Treatment residues

• Municipal & industrial treatment sludge• Incinerator ash• Tank bottoms• Solvent still bottoms• Filter cakes• Leachate

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Estimated quantities of hazardous wastes

(‘000 tonnes per year - as reported by Parties to the Basel Convention 1998)

More than 400 million tonnes of hazardous wastes are generated worldwide each year

Source: UNEP Geo 2000

Selected countries:China 9,896Czech Republic 3,917Denmark 281Greece 287Indonesia 17Latvia 80Morocco 6,543The Netherlands 2,926Russian Federation 107,060Slovakia 1,400Thailand 1,600UK 4,846Uzbekistan 26,442

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• Factory visits/records

• Interviews with contractors & suppliers

• On - site inspections

• Raw materials and product records

• Waste disposal records at generating, treatment & disposal sites

• Industry associations

• Local government staff/inspectors

• Surveys

Quantifying waste generation:

by measurement

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Quantifying waste generation:

Waste audit

Pre-assessment steps

• identify staff and resources

• define unit operations

• identify links between unit operations

Conduct audit

• quantify all inputs and outputs

• analyse and apply findings

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Quantifying waste generation:by rapid estimation 1

Basic indicators - use economic and social statistics such as GDP, populationGoal-oriented indicators - used in the context of policies and enforcement, for example when the national aim is to achieve certain degree of hazardous waste minimisation, or to implement Cleaner ProductionImpact indicators and indices - used to identify impacts from hazardous wastes Risk indicators - relate to areas of higher risk for health and/or the environment

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Quantifying waste generation:by rapid estimation 2

• Per capita:

• 100kg/per person/year for industrialised countries with strong chemical sector

• 6kg/per person/year for OECD countries with predominantly agricultural economies

• Per unit of GDP:

• According to contribution of industry to GDP

• According to importance of chemical sector within industry

• Per unit of work force

• Per number of contaminated sites

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Hazardous waste generation in OECD countries

Note: The USA estimate includes large quantities of dilute wastewater not reported in other OECD

countries. Source: YAKOWITZ H., Waste management: what now? What next? An overview of policies and

practices in the OECD area, 1993

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Per capita waste generation (1997)

Source: Secretariat of the Basel Convention (data as reported by the parties) 1999

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Source: Secretariat of the Basel Convention (data as reported by the parties) 1999

Waste generation based on Gross National Product

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National surveysNational surveys are:• difficult, as experience shows• useful for raising the profile of hazardous waste

issues• sensitive - generators are anxious about revealing

information

Questionnaires • must be simple, with only a few questions• should be carefully designed, perhaps by

independent specialists• must strike a balance on information sought• must address the specific aims of the survey

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Chapter 2.2 Summary

•Wastes come from diverse sources in all countries

•Some industry sectors are major generators, producing common waste types

•Small and medium sized industries may also be important contributors

•There are also non-industrial waste sources eg households

•There is a need for information eg on generators, waste quantities and types - national definitions influence results. There are various methods for quantifying waste generation