1. Solid and Hazardous Waste23

2. Overview of Chapter 23 Solid Waste Waste Prevention Hazardous Waste
Reducing the Amount of Waste
Reusing Products
Recycling Materials
Hazardous Waste
Types of Hazardous Waste
Management of Hazardous Waste

3. Waste electronics Computers replaced every ~18-24 months
Perceived and often obsolete soon
E-waste – electronic waste of high quality plastics and metals that comprise computers (and phones)
U.S. – 30kg per person annually
Business of recycling e-waste
Selling recyclable electronic products
Ship most e-waste overseas (disassembly can increase exposure to hazards)

4. Solid Waste
U.S. generates more solid waste per capita than any other country
1.99kg (4.38lb) per person per day
251 million tons in 2012 (increase from 2010)
Waste generation is highest in developed countries
Instead of repairing items, they are replaced

5. Types of Solid Waste Municipal solid waste Non-municipal solid waste
Solid material discarded by homes, office buildings, retail stores, schools, etc.
Relatively small portion of solid waste produced
Non-municipal solid waste
Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining

6. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste

7. Disposal of Solid Waste
Three methods
Sanitary Landfills
Replaced open dumps
Incineration
Recycling

8. Sanitary Landfill
Compacting and burying waste under a shallow layer of soil
Most common method of disposal
Problems
Methane gas production by microorganisms
Contamination of surface water & ground water by leachate
Not a long-term remedy
Few new facilities being opened
Closing a full landfill is very expensive

9. Sanitary Landfill

10. Sanitary Landfill Much of plastic waste is from packaging
Special Problem: Plastic
Much of plastic waste is from packaging
Plastics are chemically stable and do not readily break down and decompose
Photodegradable plastics (break down under sunlight) and biodegradable plastics (broken down by soil microorganisms) have been developed but are slow to be employed

11. Sanitary Landfill Special Problem: Tires
Made from materials that cannot be recycled
Can be incinerated or shredded
Tire fires that start are extremely difficult to extinguish, and release toxins to the air!!!

12. Tire Fire in Texas: !!!

13. Incineration Volume of solid waste reduced by 90%
Produces heat that can make steam to generate electricity
Produce less carbon emissions than fossil fuel power plants
Byproduct
Bottom ash
Fly ash

14. Incineration - Types of Incinerators
Mass burn (below), Modular, Refuse-derived
Mass burn, waste to energy incinerator

15. Incineration - Problems
Production of hazardous air pollutants
Carbon monoxide, particulates, heavy metals
Reduced by
Lime Scrubbers
Electrostatic Precipitators
Byproduct - Bottom ash (slag) and Fly ash
Must be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills

16. Composting Municipal Solid Waste Composting
Includes: Food scraps, Sewage sludge, Agricultural manure, Yard waste
Reduces yard waste in landfills
Can be sold or distributed to community
Concern over heavy metals

17. Waste Prevention Three Goals Reduce the amount of waste Reuse products
Recycle materials
…..the fourth “R”?????….RESPOND!!! Or “REBUY”….or “REPURPOSE”….or REGULATE!!!!

18. Reducing Waste
Purchase products with less packaging

19. Reducing Waste Source reduction
Products designed and manufactured to decrease the volume of solid waste
Reuse and recycle wastes at the plant where they are generated
35% weight reduction in aluminum cans since 1970s

20. Reducing Waste
Pollution Prevention Act (1990) – first U.S. law to focus on reduction of waste at the source
Requires EPA to identify source reduction measures
Requires manufacturers to report their source reduction and recycling activities to the EPA
Dematerialization
Progressive decrease in the size and weight of a product as a result of technological improvements

21. Reusing Products Refilling glass beverage bottles used to be standard
Heavier glass required in reusable glass bottles- costs more to make and transport
Cheaper to use lightweight, non-reusable glass
Japan recycles almost all bottles
Reused 20 times
11 U.S. States have deposits on cans and bottles to promote reuse

22. Recycling Materials
Recycling: In the NE USA, most communities recycle:
Glass bottles, newspapers, steel & aluminum cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, office paper

23. Recycling U.S. recycles 38% of Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Paper
Increased due to consumer demand for recycled paper products

24. Recycling Materials Every ton of recycled paper saves: Recycle
17 trees
7000 gallons of water
4100 kwatt-hrs of energy
3 cubic yards of landfill space
Recycle
Glass bottles, newspapers, steel cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, office paper

25. Recycling Glass Recycling Glass US recycles 25%
Costs producers less than new glass
Can be used to make “glasphalt”

26. Recycling Recycling Aluminum Recycling Metals other than Aluminum
Making new can from recycled one costs far less than making a brand new one (economic incentive)
55% of aluminum was recycled in 2012
Recycling Metals other than Aluminum
Metal recycling influenced by economy
Lead, gold, iron, steel, silver and zinc
Metallic composition is often unknown
Makes recycling difficult

27. Recycling Recycling Plastic 14% of all plastic is recycled (2012)
May be less expensive to make from raw materials
31% of PET in water and soda bottles is recycled
Most plastic containers are made of many types of plastic that must be separated to be recycled
(PET = polyethylene terphthalate)
Used to make carpeting, clothing, felt, auto parts, etc.

28. The Special Problem of Plastics…
Plastic Bags! According to the WorldWatch Institute, “Factories around the world churned out a whopping 4-5 trillion of them in 2002”!
China has instituted a plastic bag ban since 2008!
So has San Francisco, CA and many other cities in the U.S. are now following suit!

29. Recycling Recycling Tires 45% recycled in 2012
Few products are made from old tires
Playground equipment
Trashcans
Garden hose
Carpet
Roofing materials

30. Integrated Waste Management

31. Love Canal Toxic Waste Site
Hazardous Waste
Any discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment
Reactive, corrosive, explosive or toxic chemicals
Dioxins
PCBs
Radioactive waste
1% of waste stream in U.S.
Love Canal (1977)
Classic case of hazardous waste contaminating human and environmental health
Love Canal Toxic Waste Site

32. Hazardous Waste

33. Hazardous Waste Dioxin Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Formed as byproduct of combustion of chlorine compounds (medical waste incineration and others)
Bioaccumulates and biomagnifies through food web
Causes cancer, effect reproductive, immune and nervous system
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Used as cooling fluid, fire retardant, lubricator
Disposed of in open dumps, sewers and fields in 1970s - issue in groundwater today
Continues to biomagnify through food webs (esp. large fish)
Endocrine disrupter

34. Case-In-Point Hanford Nuclear Reservation

35. Management of Hazardous Waste
Chemical accidents
National Response Center notified
Typically involves oil, gasoline or other petroleum spill
Current Management Policies
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976, 1984)
EPA identifies which wastes are hazards, and prevents hazardous waste from being disposed on land unless is has been treated properly first to reduce toxicity
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980)
Commonly known as Superfund

36. Superfund Program (CERCLA)
Cleaning up existing hazardous waste:
400,000 waste sites
Leaking chemical storage tanks and drums (below)
Pesticides dumps
Piles of mining wastes
>10,000 hazardous sites qualify

37. Management of Hazardous Waste
Superfund National Priorities List
2014: 1,326 sites on the list
States with the greatest number of sites
New Jersey (114)
California (97)
Pennsylvania (95)
New York (86)
Michigan (65)

38. Management of Hazardous Waste
Biological Treatment of Hazardous Chemicals
Bioremediation - use of bacteria and other microorganisms to break down hazardous waste into relatively harmless products
1000 species of bacteria and fungi
Time consuming
Inexpensive
Phytoremediation- use of plants to absorb and accumulate hazardous materials in the soil
Phytoextraction
Ex: Indian mustard removes heavy metals

39. Examples of Phytoremediation

40. Management of Hazardous Waste
Source reduction
Most effective
Conversion to less hazardous materials
Long-term storage

41. Hazardous Waste Landfill

42. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
FROM EPA…
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is a multilateral agreement negotiated under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) beginning in 1988.
The negotiators of the Convention wanted to promote environmentally sound management of exported and imported waste, especially in developing countries.
The Basel Convention establishes standards for the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, solid waste, and municipal incinerator ash, including notice to and written confirmation from the receiving country prior to export.
As of December 2015, 183 states and the European Union are parties to the Convention.
The United States is a signatory to the Basel Convention, but has not yet become Party to the Convention.