Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Integrated Waste Management Gateway – Energy and the Environment © 2011 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Mission To conserve, protect, and preserve the environmental resources of our community. To reuse, reduce, recycle, and intelligently dispose of waste materials. To promote composting, pollution and waste prevention, and sustainable living practices. Every day people dispose of billions of tons of trash. The garbage mainly comes from industry, but it also comes from homes, apartments, schools, etc. Americans produce an unbelievable amount of garbage simply by living their daily lives. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American produces about 4.4 pounds (2 kg) of garbage a day, or a total of 29 pounds (13 kg) per week and 1,600 pounds (726 kg) a year. This only takes into consideration the average household member and does not count industrial waste or commercial trash.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Integrated waste management provides four key benefits. #1 Save Space Most garbage is put into landfills, the modern version of a garbage dump. However, the world is running out of landfill space. The space that is currently used for landfills could be used for other purposes such as homes, farms, parks, businesses, schools, etc. This space could also be kept as wilderness for the pleasure of both people and animals. Landfills are unhealthy. When rain or snow falls on the landfills and then seeps into the garbage, the water turns into a soupy liquid called leachate that is potentially poisonous depending on the amount and contest of substances in the leachate. This leachate sinks into the ground and pollutes the groundwater under the landfill. The leachate can leak into streams, lakes, and natural wells. We must make sure that this poisonous liquid does not get into our drinking water. It is expensive and difficult to purify the water of this contaminated substance.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management #2 Save Natural Resources #3 Save Energy #2-Natural resources are materials that come from the earth such as water, oil, plants, trees, metal, minerals, etc. Many products that we use every day are made from different natural resources. For example, paper is made from trees, plastic is made from oil, cans are made from metal, etc. Every time we throw away paper, broken toys, soda cans, and so on, we are really throwing away the earth’s resources. Eventually we will run out of natural resources. The earth has a limited supply of natural resources, so we must be responsible by reducing, reusing, and recycling products every single day.  #3-We also need to save energy that is derived from natural resources such as coal, oil, or natural gas. We need energy to perform tasks such as making light, heat, powering our computers, playing our video games, baking cookies, and making our cars run. We can save energy in two different ways. One way is to reuse materials instead of throwing them away and making new items, which would take energy in order to get the natural resources from the earth all over again. For example, we can reuse glass jars, plastic containers, cloth, and many other items. Therefore, we are saving energy if we don’t have to make new products to take the place of the ones we throw away. Another way that recycling saves energy is that it takes factories less energy to recycle materials into new things than it takes to use natural resources to make products in the first place. A good example is the recycling of soda cans. Can you believe that it takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than it does to make new aluminum cans? Soda cans can be recycled over and over again.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management #4 Reduce Pollution #4-While manufacturing any kind of product makes some pollution, factories that use recycled materials create much less pollution than those that make products from raw materials. Paper mills that recycle paper make a lot less water pollution than the mills that turn trees into paper. Also, factories that use recycled aluminum to make new aluminum products reduce air and water pollution by. Garbage in landfills creates a gas that contains a dangerous air pollutant which can cause cancer. Also, rain and snow mixed with this garbage makes a poisonous liquid called leachate that pollutes groundwater. Used oil that is put in the garbage rather than recycled can also drip into the ground and pollute rivers, wells, and lakes.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 1 – Reduce As a society, we should make less waste overall. Consider buying items with little or no packaging, such as tomatoes in bulk or rechargeable batteries One way to help with this huge garbage problem is to reduce. This means to cut down on the garbage or waste that we produce in the first place. We can reduce our garbage by making smart choices before we buy things, a concept referred to as precycling. For example, try not to buy items that you will only use once and then throw away. Choosing to buy only those things that we really need and choosing to buy items that are recyclable or made from recycled products helps the environment.  Precycling would also mean buying unpackaged or “bare” items when you can. An example would be to buy loose tomatoes instead of those that come in plastic packages. Another choice would be to buy things in bulk or to buy a bigger container of those items that you use often. This would save you some money and would reduce waste at the same time. Less packaging and fewer unnecessary items equals less garbage in our landfills.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 2 – Reuse Try to reuse items that we normally throw away. Use paper lunch bags multiple times instead of disposing after just one use. Reusing means to find ways that either you or someone else can use your unwanted items over again. Instead of throwing away your old books, toys, clothes, games, etc., reuse them. Sometimes you can even find creative ways to use items you might otherwise throw away. For example, you might make a purse out of an old pair of jeans. It is also possible that other people may be able to use things that you no longer want. Consider donating items to a shelter, hospital, charity, or to other worthy causes. You could also sell items at a resale shop or at your own garage sale. Items that are not valuable to you might be a treasure to someone else. Another way to reuse is to fix broken items. Many times people throw away belongings that really could be repaired. Examples are fixing a broken chair or a broken lamp, gluing a chipped bowl, or mending a torn piece of clothing. When we reuse items or allow someone else to reuse our items, we are reducing the amount of garbage in our landfills. We are also saving our natural resources, since all of the things we buy and use come from the earth.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 3 – Recycle Remember to recycle items that are recyclable. Also, we can “close the recycling loop” by buying items made from and packaged in recycled materials. Paper and plastic items will have a recycling code stamped on the bottom to indicate whether they can be recycled. Most of the products we use every day can be recycled. Examples include glass, plastic, steel, aluminum, and even used motor oil. Paper is one of the most commonly recycled items. Many different kinds of paper products can be recycled, such as newspapers, magazines, school papers, mail, office papers, greeting cards, paper bags, cardboard, printer paper, wrapping paper, and notebook paper. Some materials are recycled into more of the same material. Glass can be crushed and made into more glass, and aluminum can be melted and turned into more aluminum. But not all materials are recycled into the same kind of product. For example, carpet can be made from plastic bottles that have been shredded and melted. Consider purchasing items that are made from recycled materials. Some examples are writing paper, paper towels, greeting cards, garbage bags and even toilet paper. Labels on products will tell you whether they have been made from recycled materials.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 4 – Compost Place yard waste and food scraps either in personal or community compost areas to make humus-rich soil. Composting is nature’s way of recycling. It is a satisfying way to turn your fruit, vegetable, and yard trimmings into a dark, crumbly, sweet - smelling soil conditioner. Not only does composting help the environment, but it can help your garden, yard, and house plants too. When compost looks like soil and smells sweet and earthy, it is ready to use. Gardeners and farmers rely on compost made from manure and decaying plants to enrich the soil. Organic gardening has increased the use of composting instead of adding more chemicals to fertilize the soil. Composting reduces chemical use and prevents organic, decomposable material from taking up landfill space.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 5 – Incineration (waste-to-energy) Burn trash and use the heat to produce energy for power plants, etc. This should be done on the industrial scale, not at a personal level. Incineration is the thermal destruction of waste. Modern incineration systems use high temperatures, controlled air, and excellent mixing to change the chemical, physical, or biological character or composition of waste materials. The new systems are equipped with state-of-the-art air pollution control devices to capture particulate and gaseous emission contaminates. Incinerators burn the combustible materials in trash and can reduce the mass and volume of solid waste by as much as 90%. In a waste-to-energy plant, the incinerators harness the energy released from burning trash.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 6 – Landfills Store any leftover waste in a sanitary landfill to reduce the risk to the environment. Landfill compactors are used to crush trash. Landfills play a vital role in total integrated waste management system. We will need landfills for the foreseeable future for those wastes which cannot be reduced, reused, recycled, or composted. Landfills are a way to store solid waste, but they also provide environmental hazards. Millions of tons of garbage stink; they attract pests like rats and flies, and they create leachate.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Integrated Waste Management Step 7 – Incineration (no energy production) Burn trash just to reduce the amount of space it takes up. This is often done on an individual level (outside a single home), but it can also be done on an industrial scale. This type of incineration is really a last resort, as it creates and contributes to many serious environmental hazards.

Integrated Waste Management PLTW Gateway Unit 3 – Lesson 3.3 – Making an Impact Image Resources Microsoft, Inc. (2008). Clip art. Retrieved May 10, 2009, from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx