1. Managing Our Waste Chapter 22
Municipal, Industrial and Hazardous
Managing Our Waste Chapter 22

2. This lecture will help you understand:
The types of waste we generate
Managing waste
The scale of the waste dilemma
Conventional waste disposal
Ways to reduce waste
Industrial solid waste management
Managing hazardous waste

3. Central Case: Transforming New York’s Fresh Kills Landfill
The largest landfill in the world closed in 2001
Staten Island residents viewed the landfill as a civic blemish
It was briefly reopened to bury rubble from the World Trade Center after the 9/11/2001 attack
It will take 30 years to turn it into a world-class public park

4. Types of Waste
Waste = any unwanted material or substance that results from human activity or process
Municipal solid waste = nonliquid waste from homes, institutions, and small businesses
Industrial solid waste = from production of goods, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining
Hazardous waste = solid or liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive
Wastewater = used in a household, business, or industry
Also, polluted runoff from streets and storm drains

5. Aims in managing waste Waste management aims to:
Minimize the amount of waste generated (source reduction)
Recover waste materials and recycle them (Recycle or Compost)
Dispose of waste safely and effectively
Source reduction is the preferred approach

6. Scale of the Waste Dilemma
The U. S. produces more waste per capita than any other country in the world – about 4.4 lbs per person per day.
Germany produces about 1 lb person per day
Most developing country produce even less
But…. As developing country become more industrialize they begin to produce more waste.
Paper, yard waste, food – top three types of waste

8. What is a Waste Stream?
Waste stream = the flow of waste as it moves from its sources toward disposal destinations
Reduce
Use materials efficiently, consume less, buy goods with less packaging, use goods longer
Recovery (recycling, composting) = next best strategy in waste management
Recycling = sends used goods to facilities to manufacture into new goods (e.g., newspaper)
Composting = recovery of organic waste
But there will always be some waste left to dispose of

9. Sanitary Landfills
Regulated by local, state and federal government to protect groundwater from contamination
U.S. landfills must meet the EPA’s national standards
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976
Must provide daily cover to prevent odors and the spread of disease by animal vectors
Problems include: odors, blowing trash, release of methane (greenhouse gas), breach in containment resulting in groundwater contamination.
NIMBY

10. A typical sanitary landfill
Leachate = liquid from trash dissolved by rainwater
It is collected and treated in landfills
But it can escape if the liner is punctured
To protect against environmental contamination, landfills must be located away from wetlands and earthquake-prone faults, and be 20 ft above the water table

11. Incineration
The controlled burning of mixed garbage at very high temperature
Fly ash must still be disposed of in landfills and may contain toxic chemicals.
Generates toxic compounds that may be released as air pollution
Expensive scrubbers are needed to purify the exhaust - this adds to the cost of incineration.

12. A typical solid waste incinerator
Baghouse = a system of huge filters that physically removes particulate matter

13. Waste to Energy (WTE) Landfill gas – Methane – used like natural gas
Incineration – Burn waste to produce heat - to boil water – to turn turbines – to turn generators – to make electricity.

14. Reducing waste is a better option
Source reduction = preventing waste in the first place
Avoids costs of disposal and recycling
Helps conserve resources
Minimizes pollution
Can save consumers and businesses money
Most waste consists of materials used to package goods
Use minimal packaging
Use recyclable packaging
Reduce the size or weight of goods and materials

15. Reuse is a main strategy to reduce waste
Items can be used again
Use durable goods used instead of disposable ones
Donate items to resale centers (Goodwill and the Salvation Army)
Other actions include:
Rent or borrow items instead of buying them
Bring your own cup to coffee shops
Buy rechargeable batteries
Make double-sided copies
Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones

16. Recycling consists of three steps
Recycling = collecting materials that can be broken down and reprocessed to manufacture new items
Recycling diverted 61 million tons of materials away from U.S. incinerators and landfills in 2008
Step 1 = collection and processing of recyclable materials through curbside recycling or designated locations
Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) = workers and machines sort, clean, shred, and prepare items

17. The second and third steps of recycling
Step 2 = using recyclables to produce new goods
Many products use recycled materials
Step 3 = consumers buy goods made from recycled materials
Must occur if recycling is to function
As markets expand, prices will fall

18. Financial incentives can address waste
“Pay-as-you-throw” approach = uses financial incentives to influence consumer behavior
The less waste a house generates, the less it is charged for trash collection
Bottle bills = consumers receive a refund for returning used bottles
They are profoundly successful
But beverage industries and groceries fight them

19. Industrial solid waste
U.S. industries generate 7.6 billion tons of waste/year
97% is wastewater
Industrial solid waste = is not municipal or hazardous waste
The federal government regulates municipal waste
State or local governments regulate industrial solid waste
With federal guidance
Waste from factories, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction, etc.

20. Industrial ecology
Industrial ecology = redesigning industrial systems to reduce resource inputs while maximizing physical and economic efficiency
Industrial systems should function like ecological systems, with little waste
Life cycle analysis = examines the life cycle of a product to make the process more ecologically efficient
Waste products can be used as raw materials
Eliminates harmful products and materials
Creates durable, recyclable, or reusable products

21. Defining hazardous waste
Hazardous waste is a liquid, solid, or gas and is one of the following:
Ignitable = easily catches fire (natural gas, alcohol)
Corrosive = corrodes metals in storage tanks or equipment
Reactive = chemically unstable and readily reacts with other compounds, often explosively or by producing noxious fumes
Toxic = harms human health when inhaled, ingested, or contact human skin

22. Hazardous wastes have diverse sources
Industry produces the largest amount of hazardous waste
But waste generation and disposal are highly regulated
Households = the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste
Paint, batteries, solvents, cleaners, pesticides, etc.
Mining, small businesses, agriculture, utilities, and building demolition all produce hazardous wastes
Organic compounds and heavy metals are particularly hazardous because their toxicity persists over time

23. Organic compounds can be hazardous
Synthetic organic compounds resist bacterial, fungal, and insect activity
Plastics, tires, pesticides, solvents, wood preservatives
Keep buildings from decaying, kill pests, and keep stored goods intact
Their resistance to decay makes them persistent pollutants
They are toxic because they are readily absorbed through the skin
They can act as mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, and endocrine disruptors

24. Heavy metals can be hazardous
Lead, chromium, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, tin, and copper
Used widely in industry for wiring, electronics, metal plating and fabrication, pigments, and dyes
They enter the environment when they are disposed of improperly
Heavy metals that are fat soluble and break down slowly can bioaccumulate and biomagnify

25. “E-waste” is growing
Electronic waste (“e-waste”) = waste involving electronic devices
Computers, printers, cell phones, TVs, MP3 players
Americans discard 400 million devices/year
67% are still in working order
They are put in landfills, but should be treated as hazardous waste
Valuable trace minerals can be recovered – the 2010 Olympic medals were made from e-waste!

26. Before disposing of hazardous waste
Hazardous waste used to be discarded without special treatment
People did not know it was harmful to human health
They assumed the substances would disappear or be diluted
Since the 1980s, cities have designated sites or collection days to gather household hazardous waste

27. RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) = states must manage hazardous waste
Large generators of hazardous waste must obtain permits
Materials must be tracked “from cradle to grave”
Intended to prevent illegal dumping

28. Illegal dumping of hazardous waste
Hazardous waste disposal is costly
It results in illegal and anonymous dumping
Illegal dumping creates health risks
Along with financial headaches for dealing with it
Industrial nations illegally dump in developing nations
The Basel Convention, an international treaty, should prevent dumping, but it still happens
High costs also encourage companies to invest in reducing their hazardous waste
Incineration, bacterial and plant decomposition, etc.

29. Surface impoundments
Surface impoundments = store liquid hazardous waste
Shallow depressions are lined with plastic and clay
The water evaporates
The residue of solid hazardous waste is transported elsewhere
The clay layer can crack and leak waste
Rainstorms cause overflow, contaminating nearby areas

30. Deep-well injection
Deep-well injection = a well is drilled deep beneath the water table
Waste is injected into it
A long-term disposal method
The well is isolated from groundwater and humans
However, the wells can corrode and leak waste

31. Radioactive waste is especially hazardous
Radioactive waste is very dangerous and persistent
The U.S. has no designated single disposal site
Waste will accumulate around the nation
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) = the first underground repository for transuranic (higher atomic number than uranium) waste from nuclear weapons development
Caverns are 655 m (2,150 ft) below ground in a huge salt formation thought to be geologically stable
WIPP became operational in 1999 and is receiving thousands of shipments of waste

32. Contaminated sites are being cleaned up
Globally, thousands of former military and industrial sites are contaminated with hazardous waste
Dealing with these messes is difficult, time consuming, and expensive
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (1980)
Superfund is administered by the EPA
Established a federal program to clean up U.S. sites polluted with hazardous waste

33. Superfund
Experts identify polluted sites, take action to protect groundwater near these sites, and clean up the pollution
The EPA must clean up brownfields
Lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials
Two events spurred creation of Superfund legislation
In Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, in 1978–1980, families were evacuated after buried chemicals rose to the surface
Times Beach, Missouri, was evacuated after contamination with dioxin from oil sprayed on roads

34. The Superfund process
Once a Superfund site is identified, EPA scientists note:
How close the site is to human habitation
If wastes are currently confined or likely to spread
If the site threatens drinking water supplies
Harmful sites are placed on the National Priority List
They are ranked by their level of risk to human health
Cleanup goes on a site-by-site basis as funds are available
The EPA must hold public hearings to inform area residents of its findings and to receive feedback
Local Brownfield and Superfund sites

35. Who pays for cleanup?
CERCLA operates under the polluter pays principle = charge polluting parties for cleanup
However, the responsible parties often can’t be found
A trust fund was established by a federal tax on petroleum and chemical industries
The fund is bankrupt and Congress has not restored it
So taxpayers now pay all costs of cleanup
Fewer cleanups are being completed
1,279 sites remain, and only 341 have been cleaned up
Cleanup costs $25 million and takes 12–15 years