ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CHAPTER 16: Solid and Hazardous Waste

Core Case Study: Electronic Waste (1) What is electronic waste or e-waste? Televisions, computers Cell phones, iPods Fastest growing category of waste 80% recyclable Contains toxic materials

Core Case Study: Electronic Waste (2) Disposal methods Cradle-to-grave approach E-recycling industry Company-sponsored recycling programs Prevention is best long-term solution

16-1 What Are Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste, and Why Are They Problems? Concept 16-1 Solid waste represents pollution and unnecessary waste of resources, and hazardous waste contributes to pollution, natural capital degradation, health problems, and premature deaths.

Wasting Resources (1) Solid Waste Industrial solid waste Mining Agriculture Industry Municipal solid waste Homes Businesses

Wasting Resources (2) Hazardous or toxic waste Threatens human health or the environment Poisonous Reactive Corrosive Flammable Developed countries produce 80-90%

Wasting Resources (3) Solid waste and hazardous waste About 3/4 unnecessary resource waste Create air and water pollution, land degradation

Case Study: Solid Waste in the United States Produces 1/3 of world’s solid waste Mining, agricultural, industrial – 98.5% Municipal solid waste – 1.5% High-waste economy Examples

16-2 How Should We Deal with Solid Waste? Concept 16-2 A sustainable approach to solid waste is first to reduce it, then to reuse or recycle it, and finally to safely dispose of what is left.

Dealing with Solid Waste Waste management Waste reduction Integrated waste management

Producing Less Waste Refuse Reduce Reuse Recycle

Reducing Resource Use, Waste, and Pollution (1) Redesign processes and products to use less material Redesign processes and products to generate less waste Make products easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost, or recycle

Reducing Resource Use, Waste, and Pollution (2) Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging Use fee-per-bag waste collection systems Establish cradle-to-grave laws

Science Focus: Garbology Garbologists Like archaeologists Trash persists for decades

16-3 Why Is Reusing and Recycling Materials So Important? Concept 16-3 Reusing items decreases the use of matter and energy resources and reduces pollution and natural capital degradation; recycling does so to a lesser degree.

Reuse Reuse as a form of waste reduction Salvaging Yard sales, flea markets, secondhand stores, auctions, newspaper ads, Craigslist, ebay Technology: rechargeable batteries Refillable containers and cloth bags

Recycling (1) Five major types of materials can be recycled Paper products Glass Aluminum Steel Plastics (some)

Recycling (2) Primary (closed-loop) recycling Secondary recycling Preconsumer (internal) waste Postconsumer (external) waste Feasibility and marketing

Mixed Versus Separate Household Recycling Material recovery facilities (MRF) Can be expensive Source separation By households and businesses Glass, paper, metals, plastics, compostable

Composting Decomposing bacteria Household composting Organic waste collection facilities Successful large-scale composting Odor control Exclude toxic materials

Individuals Matter: Recycling Plastics 5% plastics recycled MBA Polymers, Inc – commercial recycling process Mike Biddle and Trip Allen, co-founders Pellets cheaper than virgin plastics More environmentally friendly

Science Focus: Bioplastics Most plastics are organic polymers produced from petrochemicals Bioplastics are made from plant materials Biodegradable Composting

Encouraging Reuse and Recycling Market prices must reflect true costs Even economic playing field: taxes/subsidies Stabilize prices for recycled materials Fee-per-bag waste collection Better-informed public

16-4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Burning or Burying Solid Waste? Concept 16-4 Technologies for burning and burying solid wastes are well developed, but burning contributes to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and buried wastes can eventually contribute to air and water pollution and land degradation.

Burying Solid Wastes Open dumps Sanitary landfills Leachates

16-5 How Should We Deal with Hazardous Waste? Concept 16-5 A more sustainable approach to hazardous waste is first to produce less of it, then to reuse or recycle it, then to convert it to less hazardous materials, and finally to safely store what is left.

Detoxifying Hazardous Waste Bioremediation Phytoremediation Incineration Plasma arc torch

Storing Hazardous Waste Deep-well disposal Below aquifers in dry, porous rock Surface impoundments 70% in U.S. have no liners 90% may threaten groundwater Secure landfills

Case Study: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States (1) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act EPA administers Cradle to grave Laws regulate only 5% of hazardous wastes

Case Study: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States (2) Superfund 1980 - created Cleans hazardous waste sites Nov. 2008: 1,255 sites on list; 322 sites cleaned Now broke Taxpayers pay for cleanup, not polluters Brownfields Turning toxic areas into parks and nature reserves

Dealing with Lead Poisoning Neurotoxin Especially harmful to children 1976-2004: number of children with unsafe blood lead levels dropped from 85% to 1.4% Government banned leaded gasoline (1976) and lead-based paint (1970) 100 countries still use leaded gasoline

16-6 How Can We Make the Transition to a More Sustainable Low-Waste Society? Concept 16-6 Shifting to a low-waste society requires individuals and organizations to reduce resource use and to reuse and recycle wastes at local, national, and global levels.

Achieving a Low-Waste Society Grassroots action Environmental justice International treaties Basel Convention Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) Dirty dozen

Five Principles for Achieving a Low-Waste Society Everything is connected There is no “away” for wastes Polluters and producers must pay for wastes Different categories of hazardous waste and recyclable waste should not be mixed Reuse, recycle, and compost solid wastes

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #1 The order of priorities for dealing with solid waste should be to reduce, reuse, recycle as much of it as possible and to safely dispose of what is left.

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #2 The order of priorities for dealing with hazardous waste should be to produce less of it, reuse or recycle it, convert it to less hazardous material, and safely store what is left.

Three Big Ideas from This Chapter - #3 We need to view solid wastes as wasted resources and hazardous wastes as materials that we should not be producing in the first place.