Solid and Hazardous Waste Chapter 22

Solid waste  Most solid waste in the US is produced by industry  75% mining  13% agriculture  9.5% industrial  1% sludge  Only 1.5% of waste is household waste

That’s a lot of trash  Municipal solid waste – household waste averaged about 1500 pounds per person in the US  This is two to three times other developed countries

Hazardous Waste  The legal definition:  Contains one of 39 toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic compounds above EPA limits  Catches fire easily  Reactive or unstable  Capable of corroding metal containers

Hazardous Waste  What is not defined as hazardous  Radioactive  Household toxic chemicals  Mining waste with heavy metals  Oil drilling waste  Liquid waste with organic hydrocarbon compounds  Cement dust  Small business hazardous waste if under 100 kilograms per month

Hazardous!!  It is estimated that of the 5.5 billion metric tons produced each year, only 6% is defined as hazardous and monitored correctly  94% is discarded by homes and industry not defined as hazardous and is therefore not regulated

Two options  Waste management – develop methods for storing and neutralizing waste  Pollution prevention – find ways to decrease amount of waste produced  This is the four “R’s”

Waste prevention  Reduce  Reuse  Recycle  Rot (compost)  Redesign  These are listed in order of increasing energy required

Our new goal  Reduce waste pollution  Reuse as much as possible  Recycle/compost as much as possible  Chemically treat/incinerate the rest  Bury the remaining material in a sanitary landfill

Producing less waste best choice  Save energy and virgin resources  Reduce environmental impact of acquiring material  Improve worker health and safety  Decrease pollution control/waste management costs  Less long term costs associated with cleanup

Ways to produce less waste  Decrease consumption  Redesign manufacturing to use less virgin material  Redesign products to be less polluting  Redesign manufacturing to be more efficient  Use less hazardous products at home  Design products to last longer (non-disposable)  Reduce packaging  Trash tax – pay by the pound