1. Chapter 12
Waste

2. Waste—What is it?
The waste stream includes everything we put in our trash
Solid waste – discarded material that is not a liquid or gas
Plastics, metal, paper, food, building materials, etc.
According to the EPA, The average American generates 4.4 pounds of trash a day (1,600 pounds per year!)

3. What do we throw away? 41% Paper 24% Food and Yard Waste 16% Plastics
10% Other (Clothes, diapers, etc.)
5% Glass
4% Metals
!!! 60% of what is thrown away is recyclable!!!!
(Source: ODNR 2004)

4. Why do we generate so much trash?
We have more money to spend on material goods
We use technology that is upgraded constantly, rendering products outdated
Good advertising for products makes us feel we need new items
We live in a ‘Throwaway Society ’
Much of the food produced is wasted

5. Why is so much waste an environmental problem?
Producing large amounts of goods to replace what we are throwing away depletes natural resources, both renewable (trees, water), and non-renewable (coal, oil).
Trash must be hauled away
WHERE DO WE PUT IT ALL? At some point, we may run out of viable options for waste disposal! (Think Wall-E)

6. Landfill

7. Function of a Landfill
Landfills are currently made with BAT – Best Available Technology
They are “sanitary”, meaning waste is enclosed in clay and plastic liners to prevent leakage
Waste is piled in cells which are covered by soil on a daily basis
Leachate (garbage juice) is collected in tubes to be reused or treated
Operates for years, then when full, is capped

8. Positives/Negatives of a Landfill
Keep wastes out of the environment
Methane produced by bacteria eating wastes can be used to generate electricity
Land can have limited use after 30 years of problem-free monitoring
They can fail and pollute soil and water
Leachate can be toxic
Unmonitored methane can escape and cause explosions (rare)
Expensive to build and monitor
Ohio has many due to high amount of clay

9. From: Runco Environmental

10. Incineration

11. Function of Incineration
Trash is burned at high temperatures
Reduced to ash
Smoke is treated by “scrubbers” in the smokestacks
Ash may be put into a traditional landfill, or may need to go to a toxic waste landfill

12. Positives/Negatives of Incineration
Extremely toxic smoke and ash are produced
Reduces recycling as there is an incentive to burn high density plastics
Plastics produce dioxins
Dioxins are carcinogens
Greatly reduces volume of trash that goes into a landfill
Waste-to-energy plants can use the heat of combustion to create steam to turn turbines
Regulated by EPA…

14. MRF – Materials Recovery Facility

15. Function of MRFs
Trash is brought in and sorted to remove recyclables from the waste stream
Clean MRF – sorts recyclables
Dirty MRF – sorts mixed household trash (food mixed in)
Waste is sorted by magnets, reverse magnets, by machines and by hand

16. Positives/Negatives of MRFs
Greatly reduces volume of trash that goes into a landfill
Saves tons of recyclables from the landfill
Provides materials for recycling
Provides jobs
Expensive to run
Money is made on the sale of recyclables: 1 and 2 plastics, paper, metal but NOT as much on 3-7s
People may think their waste goes to a MRF, so they don’t recycle

17. Litter: Waste out of Place
When trash is not thrown away, either on purpose or on accident, it is called litter
Ohio litter laws punish with fines up to $500 and 60 days in jail
KAB – Keep America Beautiful’s anti-litter campaign features the (The Crying Indian)

18. Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Discovered by Captain Charles Moore
Estimated to be 2x the size of Texas!
Not only a problem to birds and turtles, small broken down plastic bits are entering the food chain
How does this affect YOU?

19. So, what can you do to reduce waste?
Reduce – Source reduction of waste; buy items with less packaging, buy in bulk, buy concentrated and refillable items, use less
Reuse – Pass on items for reuse, find new uses for old items (freecycle.org)
Recycle – breaking down/melting of waste to make new products
Close the loop!! Buy recycled items!

20. Reduce Avoid being part of a “throwaway” society. Buy less stuff!
Use old items longer, repair them
Buy higher quality items that will last longer. It is usually worth the investment. Examples?
Pre-cycle – buy products with biodegradable packaging or no packaging. Make smart purchases!

21. Reuse Find new uses for old items, reinvent their purpose. Examples?
Shop at consignment shops (Plato’s Closet) and Goodwill
Find bargains at yard sales and garage sales
Eco-artware.com
Greenfeet.com
ReadyMade
Instructables.com

22. Recycle
Paper – many types from office to cardboard can be recycled into paperboard (cereal boxes)
Metal – recycling steel cans (soup) and aluminum saves resources and energy
Plastics - #1 PET and #2 HDPE are most easily recycled, but mixed plastics can be used. Carpet, clothing, plastic lumber, etc. are products of recycling!

23. Benefits of recycling:
Ohio’s recycling industry provides 169,000 jobs in Ohio (4.3%)!
Saves 53.5 million barrels of oil!
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 8.7 billion tons!
Saves 46.6 million cubic yards of landfill space (53,000 railcars)!
Saves $877 million in disposal costs!
11 Billion soda bottles worth of plastic are recycled!
60,000 tons of glass are recycled (enough energy saved to launch a space shuttle)!
Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees!
Ohioans recycle 2 million tons of paper!
29 billion beverage cans worth of aluminum are recycled!

24. What to do with everything else?
Composting – create a compost pile to naturally break down lawn waste, vegetable matter, paper, coffee grounds, and eggshells. NO animal products like meat, bone, or oil.
Motor Oil – can be recycled at local stations
Christmas trees – can be made into mulch or fish habitat
Computers and appliances – local recycling drives and companies.
HHW – Hazardous household wastes: paint, solvents, etc. can be dropped off at centers.