Solid and Hazardous Waste

Any solid unwanted material U.S. produces 11,000,000,000 tons per yr.

The Solid Waste Problem

Open dumps Ocean Dumping Landfills Exporting Incinerating Options for Disposal

Open Dump Common in developing countries, Illegal in developed countries. Drop off trash Dump in Chimalhuacán, Mexico Kids working in a dump in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Problems with Open Dumps Disease! Rodent problems Groundwater pollution Organisms eat trash  sick

Sanitary Landfills 1) 1)Dig a giant hole 2) 2)Line hole with plastic liner 3) 3)Place solid waste in hole 4) 4)Cover each day with 6” soil. Only NEWER ones have lining (15%) Possible leakage to groundwater if liner rips.

Bacteria break down solid waste  methane. Pipes suck out methane and is burned to create electricity.

Disposal by Incineration AKA “Waste-to-Energy” Trash is burned  heat is used to generate electricity 1000 plants in world (110 in US)

Incinerator Problems CO, PM, & heavy metals released Control devices must be installed; scrubbers/electrostatic precipitators, $$$ Ash produced  landfills

Ocean Dumpin g 55,000,000 lbs of trash are dumped in sea every yr. 300,000 lbs of fishing gear.

Pacific Trash Gyre-Urban Runoff

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Federal law in U.S. governing the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. “Cradle to grave” tracking on hazardous materials.

Integrated Waste Management Variety of methods to minimize waste (3 R’s= Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)

Reducing Waste Reduce consumption Reduce packaging Trash taxes Photo/biodegradable plastics

Refillable Bottles Use fabric bags for groceries Reuse car parts, motor oil etc. Reuse 5 cents off/ bag TJ’s: Bring bags back  25 $ raffle Corona Factory, Mexico

Recycle Turning discarded materials into new materials. Pros: reduces virgin resource use, frees up landfill space, less deforestation, less habitat loss

Cons: Expensive for cities to start, trucks create CO 2, more expensive products. Recycling plants create CO 2  Global Warming

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Recycled Materials Glass bottles Aluminum Cans (2/3 are recycled, non-renewable resource) Paper – –Low grade – –Requires bleach to de-ink