Dealing with waste Part I - Landfills

D18 Explain the short- and long-term impacts of landfills and incineration of waste materials on the quality of the environment.

There are 3,091 active sanitary landfills in the U. S There are 3,091 active sanitary landfills in the U.S. and over 10,000 old municipal landfills (rubbish pits).

The “Throwaway Age” According to social critic Vance Packard, we are living in the “Throwaway Age,” the name given to an era where every person in an industrialized nation produces about four pounds of waste each day Freudenrich, Craig C., Ph.D. “How Landfills Work.” 2003. http://people.howstuffworks.com/landfill.htm.          

Vocabulary Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): trash (or garbage) generated by people and industry. Landfill: a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial. Transfer station: a place where municipal solid waste is collected prior to the waste going to the landfill. Per capita: per person.

3 Types of Waste Municipal solid waste- nonliquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses. Industrial Solid Waste- Includes waste from production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture and petroleum extraction and refining. Hazardous waste- Refers to solid or liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive.

Vocabulary Leachate: the liquid that seeps from the MSW in a landfill, which may be toxic. Vector: any animal or pest attracted to the garbage in landfills. They may spread disease. Groundwater: the water that is under the ground. This water is commonly used as a drinking water source. It can be contaminated by leachate.

Rubbish Pit vs. Sanitary Landfill

Anatomy of a Landfill Modern sanitary landfills are carefully engineered structures designed to isolate garbage from nearby water, soil, wildlife, and people.

How is a Sanitary Landfill made? The cavities are dug out of the ground and then the walls are sealed with layers of clay and coated with plastic to prevent groundwater contamination from wastewater that accumulates.

So, what did you throw out today? What did you throw away during lunch or breakfast? What happens to the trash after it goes in the garbage? Who moves it? How does it get in the garbage truck? Where does the garbage truck take it? Where does it ultimately end up?

How does waste get from the consumer to the landfill? The sanitary waste employee picks waste up from the consumer’s home or business. The waste is taken to a transfer station or directly to the landfill. From the transfer station, the waste is taken by truck to the landfill.

What short-term problems are caused by landfills? Trucks used to collect and move trash both locally and at the landfill are noisy. Landfills and garbage trucks stink!

Trucks Moving Trash

Landfill Model

Note the overlapping seams! The Liner Note the overlapping seams!

Old Style Landfill Layers of the old style landfill Daily cover Trash, waste, garbage Soil Trash is covered daily by 6 inches of dirt, fluff, tarps, etc.. This prevents Fire Helps control odor Vector control

What long-term problems are caused by landfills? Several types of problems are caused Water Problems Soil Problems Environmental Problems

Water Problems

Leachate Problems

Issues Concerning Water Flow Through a Landfill When water (moisture) flows through a landfill, it picks up toxic substances found in waste, creating leachate. Water causes leachate to flow down through the landfill and it may contaminate groundwater.

Issues Concerning Water Flow Through a Landfill Contaminated groundwater can disrupt the ecosystem by poisoning people, plants, and other wildlife.

Water Flow/Landfill Issues Waste management companies will apply a natural protective layer of clay and/or plastic liners beneath the landfills that prevents leachate from getting into the groundwater. Buuuuut, this system is not always foolproof, and leaks do happen!

Soil Problems

What effects does a landfill have on the soil? Soil contamination Materials can leach out of the landfill, and taint the soil with chemicals and solid waste Possible increase in Mercury concentrations in the soil

Mercury and Landfills Common sources of mercury in landfills include electrical switches, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, thermometers, and some medical waste. Mercury is often a constituent in gases that are emitted from landfills. It can also be released into the soil. http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/uz_mercury_transport.html

Environmental Problems

Environmental Problems Landfills need space! This leads to habitat destruction Do you want one in your backyard? “NIMBY” Look at some pictures …

Delaware

Environmental Effects Continued Landfills require the use of large, heavy machines! These contribute to noise pollution and air pollution The heavy machinery releases CO2 which contributes to the greenhouse effect.

The Capping of a FULL Landfill Hartford Landfill

So...landfill garbage degrades, right? Not really. Landfills are mostly anaerobic. Without the oxygen and water needed to break down organic materials, all garbage decays very slowly in a landfill. This means our garbage will probably be around for a very long time.

40 Yr-old Newspaper found in Landfill

Even food does NOT degrade

Amount of Trash Thrown in Landfills (by weight)

Plastics Plastics can take between 200-400 years to degrade. Only 3% of it is currently recycled. Yard Waste “Green Waste” (leaves, twigs, Christmas trees) can be shredded and used as mulch or composted. Paper & Cardboard Nationwide, paper & cardboard account for 41 % of all municipal solid waste. Only about 34.5 % is recycled in the U.S.

Metal Recycling aluminum reduces both air and water pollution by more than 95% due to less energy needed to mine & process it. Only 38% of cans are recycled. Glass Glass was one of the first to be recycled and continues to lead all others in % recycled. It is the easiest recycled material to use and is the most cost efficient. Food Waste 15.8 million tons of food goes to waste in the U.S. every year. Vegetable & plant matter can be composted (NOT meat or fats) and used for mulch.

Landfill Issues 1. Leakage through plastic membrane 2. Water Contamination from leachate 3. Air Emissions (methane & other gases) 4. Toxins in landfills 5. Hazardous waste in landfills 6. Location of old landfills needing remediation close to large bodies of water 7. Landfill cover usually is ash from incinerators, not dirt 8. Monitoring of closed landfills will not be kept up 10. Who is liable when land changes hands?

What will be Your future?

The Example of Love Canal Love Canal is a 16-acre landfill in the southeast corner of the City of Niagara Falls, New York, about 0.3 mile north of the Niagara River. In the 1890s, a canal was excavated to provide hydroelectric power. Instead, it was later used by Hooker Electrochemical for disposal of over 21,000 tons of various chemical wastes. Dumping ceased in 1952, and in 1953 the disposal area was covered and deeded to the Niagara Falls Board of Education.

Love Canal Construction occurred near the site, including an elementary school and numerous homes.  Odors and residues were reported during the 1960s, and increased in the 1970s as the water table rose, bringing contaminated ground water to the surface.

Love Canal Numerous toxic chemicals migrated into surrounding areas. This run-off drains upstream of the intake tunnels for the Niagara Falls' water treatment plant. After years of remediation activities, Love Canal was “de-listed” as a Superfund site in 2004. (USEPA)

EPA and Love Canal Difficult to prove there was a link Environmental Protection Agency released blood results In 1979 they released blood results Passed the superfund act and relocated 800+ families

Superfund Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (1980) Federal law designed to clean up site contaminated by hazardous substances

Superfund Sites Love canal Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989) Gulf Coast Oil Spill (BP, 2010) More recently: http://nypost.com/2016/12/07/thousands-of-snow-geese-die-after-landing-on-superfund-site/

Brownfield Land previously used for industrial purposes or some commercial uses May have concentrations of toxic or hazardous waste The land may have to opportunity to be used once the area has been cleaned up. Some do not