1. Solid Waste

2. Solid Waste Unwanted/discarded material, not liquid or gas Sources:
Sludge from water treatment, industry
Commercial & Industrial byproducts
Construction
Municipal garbage
An underutilized resource
A mirror of society
“Cradle to Grave” production philosophy

3. Natural Capital Degradation
U.S. produces 1/3 of worlds solid waste
12 billion tons of solid waste produced in the United States each year from:
75% Mining, oil, and gas production
13% Agriculture
9.5% Industry
1.5% Municipal (MSW)
1% Sewage Sludge

4. Where does it come from? Paper is about 38% of MSW Yard waste – 12%
Food waste – 11%
Plastics - 10%
Fastest growing problem is ‘e-waste’ or from electronic devices

5. Natural Resources Goods and Services
Pollution, Waste
and Environmental
Disturbances

6. 5 Rs Refuse-refuse items you don’t need Reduce-consume less
Reuse-rely on items you can use over and over again
Repurpose-use something for another purpose and not throw it away
Recycle-separate and recycle paper, glass, cans, plastics, metal and buy products from recycled materials.

7. P2 – Pollution Prevention
Option - Waste Management
Accept high-waste society as unavoidable because of economic growth
Reduce environmental harm; bury, burn or compress it
Transfer from one environment to another

8. Exporting Wastes Between Countries Between States
New York (3,774,000 tons) -> PA, VA, OH, CT <- VT, MA (0.16 mil tons)
Illinois (2,800,000 tons) -> IN, WI <- MO, IA, IN, WI (1.3 mil. tons)
California (453,183 tons) -> NV, WA

9. Problem: Rise of Interstate Garbage Commerce
1993: million tons of municipal solid waste crossed state lines
2003: 39 million tons
Causes:
Increased generation
Geographic distribution of landfill
Capacity limits
Consolidation of waste management industry

10. Interstate Commerce - Garbage Stakeholders
Biggest Garbage Exporters
New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Maryland, Massachusetts
Biggest Garbage Importers:
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana
Waste Management Companies:
Three companies gross 67% of the revenue earned for U.S. municipal solid waste management

11. Environmental Concerns
Diesel exhaust – air pollution
Human health concerns
Environmental impacts
CO2 emissions– global warming
Highway congestion
Increase in accidents
Increase in spills
Inter-coastal transport – water pollution, spills

12. Bioremediation vs Phytoremediation- How we can clean up hazardous waste?
Oil spills!
Exxon-Valdez supertanker ran into a reef in Alaska in million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean.
BP oil spill-Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in Gulf of Mexico in Estimated that 5 million barrels went into the sea.
After watching-define Bioremediation
Bioremediation: using genetically engineered or naturally occurring microorganisms to destroy toxic or hazardous chemicals or convert them to non-toxic forms.
Picture from Space of BP oil spill
Can we use microbes to “eat” the oil??

13. Phytoremediation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUYTK9B2RSw
Define phytoremediation after you watch the video
Phytoremediation: using genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, remove contaminants from soil or water. Pollution “sponges”

14. Mercury and Lead Poisoning-Heavy Metals
Chemical symbol-Pb
Neurotoxin that does not break down in the environment.
Mainly affects children (neural development, IQ, ADD, behavior disorders)
Decreased numbers of poisonings due to removal of lead in paint, gasoline, banning it in ceramicware and various electronics.
Chemical symbol-Hg
Liquid at room temp
Neurotoxin that interferes with nervous system and brain function.
Released into atmosphere by rocks, volcanoes and soil.
Humans put it in the air by coal burning mainly.
Humans exposed by inhaling vapor or eat fish that have methylmercury (converted to this form by bacteria in water)
Which trophic level would you expect to find the HIGHEST degree of mercury in an aquatic habitat?

16. P2 con’t. Option - Waste Reduction Low waste approach
Reduce consumption
Redesign products
Eliminate or reduce packaging
Recycle, Reduce
View waste as a resource
Encourage reduction and prevention (economically & legislatively)
Conserves matter (resources) and energy
Reduces pollution, ecological benefits
Can be economically beneficial

17. SOLUTIONS - Sustainability
Consume less
Redesign manufacturing processes and products to use less
Redesign industrial processes to produce less waste and pollution
Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost or recycle
Design products that last longer
Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging
“Cradle to Cradle” philosophy

18. Recover Technical Nutrients
Reduce Use of
Natural Resources
Recover Technical Nutrients

19. Ecoindustrial Revolution
‘Biomimicry’ mimic natural environment – matter is recycled
Resource Exchange between industries
Redevelop ‘brown fields’
Success stories – 3M: reduced waste by 30%
Redesigned equipment and processes
Used fewer hazardous chemicals
Recycled more hazardous pollutants

20. Service-flow Economy Compare to material-flow economy
Eco-leasing: Xerox
Air conditioning
Carpets & tile
cameras

21. Reuse or Throw-away Society?
Reuse Advantages
Used in developing countries – saves $
E-Products used in developed countries dismantled and re-used where labor is cheap
Drinks in reusable containers cost less (PET plastics); saves energy
Cloth shopping bags instead of plastic
Industrial packaging
Disadvantages
Potential health risks when reusing food or water containers
Pollution and health risks from Pb, Hg, Cd, dioxin
Companies make more money selling disposable containers
Less convenient
Need economic incentives and redesign

22. Recycling Preconsumer vs. postconsumer Municipal Possibilities
Paper
Glass
Aluminum
Steel
Plastics
US MSW recycling
Currently - 30%
Future - up to 60-80%

23. Recycling Primary or closed Loop
Secondary recycling or down cycling (tires to surfacing materials)

24. Recycling Benefits Reduce solid waste
Reduce pollution: air, water, soil
Saves energy (harvesting virgin resources)
Reduce habitat destruction
Species protection
Saves money
(tire disposal site on fire)

25. Recycling Disadvantages
Source separation
Technology
Cost?
Space

26. Composting Reduce paper, yard, and vegetable waste
Currently, composting 5% in the US
Potential – 35%
Useful as fertilizer, topsoil, or landfill cover

27. Why is the US behind in reuse and recycling?
Market price of products do not include environmental costs
Resource-extracting industries receive more tax breaks and subsidies than recycling and reuse industries
Still cheaper here to use landfills.
Demand and prices for recycled materials fluctuates

28. How can we encourage recycling and reuse?
Increase subsidies and tax breaks for industries choosing recycled resources over virgin resources
PAUT: pay as you throw
Product stewardship – industry responsibility for take back of products (e-waste)
Phase out use of hazardous materials when possible

29. Sanitary Landfills Advantages Disadvantages Little odor
water pollution
Quick and easy to build
Low operating costs
Disadvantages
Noise and traffic
Dust
Air pollution
Greehouse gases (methane and CO2)
Water pollution

32. Incineration Advantages Disadvantages Reduce trash volume
Lowers need for landfills
Lower water pollution
Easy
Disadvantages
High cost
Air pollution (dioxins)
Produces toxic ash
Discourages recycling

33. Hazardous Waste Threatens human health or the environment.
Examples: industrial solvents, hospital medical waste, car batteries (lead and acids), household pesticides, drain cleaners, dry cell batteries, incinerator ash
It is toxic, chemically active, corrosive or flammable.
Important statistics
USA produces 1/3 of the world’s solid waste.
98.5% is industrial or solid waste, 1.5% municipal solid waste
Average American produces 4.5lb/day
Paper makes up 38% of the trash buried in US landfills, followed by yard waste, food waste and plastic.
Plastic HARDEST to recycle
Aluminum easiest to recycle (lowest amount of energy needed to recycle it

34. Hazardous Waste
RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, regulates 5% of hazardous waste
Not regulated by RCRA:
Radioactive waste
Household waste
Mining wastes
Oil and gas drilling
Liquid waste
Small business

35. Detoxifying Hazardous Waste
How?
Physical methods
Chemical reactions
Bioremediation
Phytoremediation
Plasma
Where do they go?
Incineration
Deep well injection
Surface impoundments
Secure landfills
NIMBY

36. Brownfields
Abandoned industrial sites or other hazardous waste sites that are cleaned up and put to use
Include: old landfills, munitions dumps, shooting ranges, ode factories
Require: remediation, soil reclamation

37. Chemical Toxins – Heavy Metals
Lead
Children inhale or ingest
Banned leaded gas
Still found in paint chips from homes build prior to 1960
Mercury
Inhale or ingest in fish
From burning coal and incineration
Bioaccumulation and maginification

38. Chemical Toxins - Dioxins
Chlorinated hydrocarbons
Sources:
70% from incineration of MSW & medical waste
Smelting, refining
Forest fires
Toxicity:
Persistent
Carcinogenic – TCDD
HAAS
Human exposure from food

39. Hazardous Waste Regulation
RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
EPA identify hazardous waste and set standards
Industry permits for managing
Develop ‘cradle to grave’ system, generation to disposal
CERCLA – Superfund
Identify abandoned sites
Protect and/or clean up ground water
Identify sites for NPL – National Priorities List for remediation
Who pays? Polluter or Taxpayer