1. Solid and Hazardous Waste
Chapter 21
Solid wastes are only raw materials that we’re too stupid to use.
Arthur C. Clarke

2. What Are Solid Wastes?
Solid waste is any unwanted or discarded material that is not liquid or gas
The U.S., with less than 5% of the worlds population produces about 1/3rd of the world’s waste
Guess where most of solid waste comes from?
Almost 98.5% comes from mining, oil and gas production, agriculture and industry
The remaining 1.5 % is Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) = GARBAGE!!! (from households and businesses)

3. We live in a high waste or throw-away society…
We live in a high waste or throw-away society….here’s some food for thought-
Enough aluminum to rebuild the country’s entire commercial airline fleet every 3 months
About 18 billion disposable diapers per year (reach to the moon and back 7X!!!)
About 2 billion disposable razors, 30 million cell phones, 18 million computers and 8 million TV’s
Used carpet that would cover the entire state of Delaware
About 670,000 tons of edible food per year
Enough office paper to build an 11 foot high wall from NYC to San Fran
8.6 million metric tons (17 billion pounds) of packing peanuts to protect shipped items

4. How Should We Deal with Solid Waste?
A sustainable approach to solid waste is first to reduce it, then to reuse or recycle it, and finally to safely dispose of what is left.

5. We Can Burn or Bury Solid Waste or Produce Less of It…2 WAYS!
Waste Management – “high-waste approach” – unavoidable consequence of economic growth (burying waste, burning it or shipping to another state or country)
Waste Reduction – “low-waste approach” – there is no “away” – view waste as potential resource or should not be produced in the first place

6. Integrated Waste Management: Priorities for Dealing with Solid Waste

7. We Can Cut Solid Wastes by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling -
Waste reduction is based on
Refuse
Reduce (consume less)
Reuse (repeatedly use items)
Recycle
Rot (compost)
Reusing items decreases the use of matter and energy resources and reduces pollution and natural capital degradation; recycling does so to a lesser degree.
3 R's song

8. SEVEN STRATEGIES-
(1) Redesign manufacturing processes and products to use less material and energy (2) Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less waste and pollution (3) Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost, or recycle (4) Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging (5) Use fee-per-bag waste collection systems (6) Establish cradle-to -grave responsibility (7) Restructure urban transportation systems

9. What Can You Do?

10. We Can Encourage Reuse and Recycling
What hinders reuse and recycling?
Lack of large steady markets for recycled materials
Failure to include harmful environmental and health costs of raw materials
More government tax breaks for resource-extracting industries than for recycling and reuse industries
Encourage reuse and recycling
Government
Increase subsidies and tax breaks for using such products
Decrease subsidies and tax breaks for making items from virgin resources

11. Bury or Burn???
Technologies for burning and burying solid wastes are well developed, but burning contributes to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and buried wastes eventually contribute to pollution and land degradation.

12. WTE’s
Waste-to-energy incinerators – burns solid waste to produce electricity
About 16% of MSW in U.S. is combusted!

13. Trade-Offs: Incineration, Advantages and Disadvantages

14. Burying Solid Waste- Open dumps – essentially holes in the ground
versus
Sanitary landfills - about 54% of garbage in US - solid wastes are spread out in thin layers and compacted and covered daily with fresh layer of clay or plastic foam

15. When landfill is full, layers of soil and clay seal in trash
Topsoil
Sand
Electricity generator building
Clay
Leachate treatment system
Garbage
Methane storage and compressor building
Probes to detect methane leaks
Pipes collect explosive methane for use as fuel to generate electricity
Methane gas recovery well
Leachate storage tank
Compacted solid waste
Figure 21.15
Solutions: state-of-the-art sanitary landfill, which is designed to eliminate or minimize environmental problems that plague older landfills. Since 1997, only modern sanitary landfills are allowed in the United States. As a result, many small, older local landfills have been closed and replaced with larger regional landfills. Question: How do you think sanitary landfills could develop leaks of toxic liquids?
Leachate pipes
Groundwater monitoring well
Leachate pumped up to storage tank for safe disposal
Garbage
Sand
Synthetic liner
Leachate monitoring well
Sand
Groundwater
Clay and plastic lining to prevent leaks; pipes collect leachate from bottom of landfill
Clay
Subsoil

16. TRADE-OFFS Sanitary Landfills Advantages Disadvantages No open burning
Noise and traffic
Little odor
Dust
Low groundwater pollution if sited properly
Air pollution from toxic gases and trucks
Releases greenhouse gases (methane and CO2) unless they are collected
Can be built quickly
Low operating costs
Figure 21.16
Advantages and disadvantages of using sanitary landfills to dispose of solid waste (Concept 21-4). Question: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important? Why?
Slow decomposition of wastes
Can handle large amounts of waste
Output approach that encourages waste production
Filled land can be used for other purposes
No shortage of landfill space in many areas
Eventually leaks and can contaminate groundwater
Fig , p. 576

17. There Are Two Types of Recycling -
Primary, closed-loop recycling – wastes discarded are recycled to produce the SAME type of product(newspaper and aluminum cans)
Secondary recycling - wastes are turned into DIFFERENT (& usually lesser quality) materials
About 30% of MSW in U.S. is recycled or composted

18. We Can Mix or Separate Household Solid Wastes for Recycling
Materials-recovery facilities (MRFs) – large scale recycling by collecting mixed urban waste , transporting it to MRF and then separating it
Downside –
expensive to build and operate
Can emit toxic air pollutants
Must have a large input of garbage to be successful OR
Source separation -
Pay-as-you-throw
Fee-per-bag

19. TRADE-OFFS Recycling Advantages Disadvantages
Reduces air and water pollution
Can cost more than burying in areas with ample landfill space
Saves energy
Reduces mineral demand
May lose money for items such as glass and some plastics
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Reduces solid waste production and disposal
Figure 21.12
Advantages and disadvantages of recycling solid waste (Concept 21-3). Question: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important? Why?
Reduces profits for landfill and incinerator owners
Helps protect biodiversity
Can save landfill space
Source separation is inconvenient for some people
Important part of economy
Fig , p. 573

20. What is hazardous waste?
Legally defined as:
a. toxic (includes pesticides, solvents, etc)
b. flammable (catches fire easily – gasoline, solvents)
c. reactive (acids, bases, ammonia)
d. corrosive (industrial cleaning agents, drain cleaners)
Does NOT include: radioactive wastes, mining wastes, hazardous and toxic materials discarded by households, oil & gas drilling waste, wastes from small businesses (<220 lbs/month), liquid waste containing organic hydro-carbon compounds!!!

21. How Should We Deal with Hazardous Waste?
A sustainable approach to hazardous waste is first to produce less of it, then to reuse or recycle it, then to convert it to less hazardous materials, and finally, to safely store what is left.

22. Produce Less Hazardous Waste
Convert to Less Hazardous or Nonhazardous Substances
Put in Perpetual Storage
Change industrial processes to reduce or eliminate hazardous waste production
Natural decomposition
Landfill
Incineration
Underground injection wells
Thermal treatment
Chemical, physical, and biological treatment
Surface impoundments
Recycle and reuse hazardous waste
Underground salt formations
Dilution in air or water
Figure 21.17
Integrated hazardous waste management: priorities suggested by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for dealing with hazardous waste (Concept 21-5). To date, these priorities have not been followed in the United States and in most other countries. Question: Why do you think that most countries do not follow these priorities? (Data from U.S. National Academy of Sciences)
Fig , p. 577

23. We Can Detoxify Hazardous Wastes
Collect and then detoxify
Physical methods
Chemical methods
Use nanomagnets
Bioremediation
Phytoremediation
Incineration
Using a plasma arc torch

24. TRADE-OFFS Phytoremediation Advantages Disadvantages Easy to establish
Slow (can take several growing seasons)
Inexpensive
Effective only at depth plant roots can reach
Can reduce material dumped into landfills
Some toxic organic chemicals may evaporate from plant leaves
Figure 21.19
Advantages and disadvantages of using phytoremediation to remove or detoxify hazardous waste. Question: Which single advantage and which single disadvantage do you think are the most important? Why?
Produces little air pollution compared to incineration
Some plants can become toxic to animals
Low energy use
Fig , p. 579

25. We Can Store Some Forms of Hazardous Waste
Burial on land or long-term storage
Deep-well disposal
Surface impoundments
Secure hazardous landfills

26. Deep-Well Disposal

27. Surface Impoundment in Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.

28. Surface Impoundments

29. Solutions: Secure Hazardous Waste Landfill

30. Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States – Need to know!
1976: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) – requires EPA to identify hazardous wastes and set standards for their management (cradle-to-grave)
1980: Comprehensive Environmental, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund - trust fund - identify and clean-up sites – Polluter pays!!
Pace of cleanup has slowed
Superfund is broke
Laws encouraging the cleanup of brownfields – abandoned industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated! (junkyards, gas stations, older landfills)

31. Leaking Barrels of Toxic Waste at a Superfund Site in the United States