1. Chapter 22: Waste Management

2. Waste
unwanted material or substance resulting from human activity or process
municipal solid waste (trash)
hazardous waste
toxic
chemically reactive
flammable
corrosive
industrial solid waste
goods
mining
agriculture
petroleum extraction and refining

3. Waste Management minimize your waster
find ways to recycle waste materials
disposing waste safely and effective

4. Minimizing Waste: Source Reduction
more efficient use of materials
buy fewer goods
less packaging
use goods longer
reusing goods (purchasing used, donating)

5. Recovery: Recycling and Composting
best strategy in waste management
recycling: sending used goods to facilities for extraction and processing of raw materials
composting: organic decomposition used for the recovering of organic waste

6. Recycling and Composting in the U.S.

7. Waste Stream

8. Municipal Solid Waste
in the U.S. 71% consists of paper, yard debris, food scraps, plastics
packaging
nondurable goods
outdated goods
in 2005 we generated 246 million tons, almost one ton per person!
average person generates 2 kg of waste per day

9. Waste Generation throwaway society increase in packaging
poor quality goods
developing countries are becoming more throwaway societies
recycling has stabilized the waste production in some industrialized countries

10. Open Dumping trash dumped wherever it suites the person
municipalities began taking care of the trash
specific sites for trash
noxious smoke and nasty smell
cities began burying the trash and burning some in incinerators (Midlothian)

11. Sanitary Landfills regulated by health and environmental guidelines
resource conservation and recovery act 1976
amended in '84
partial decomposition by bacteria
compressed by its weight
layered with soil
speeds decomposition
reduces infestation
limited infiltration of rainwater
allows biodegradation by aerobic and anaerobic bacteria

12. Protection against Environmental Contamination
location
away from wetlands
away from earthquake-prone faults
6m above water table
bottom and sides must be lined with plastic
2-4 ft of clay to prevent contamination of aquifers
leachate has to be collected, treated and kept for 30 years after the landfill close to prevent contamination
regular monitoring of groundwater

13. Closing of Landfill

14. Drawbacks leachate is inevitable liner can be punctured
maintenance cease eventually
landfills are kept dry, but bacteria prefer wet so decomposition slows down
finding suitable areas (not-in-my-backyard)
garbage barge (NY 1987)
located in poor/minority communities

15. Incineration: benefits
it reduces pressure on landfills
it can generate 35% of the energy generated by coal power plant
can produce gas as a byproduct to be used for energy
it is a controlled process where garbage is burned at very high temperatures

16. Incinerator: Drawbacks
resulting components are toxic
scrubber and baghouse "clean" the byproduct
toxic gases can still be created and released to the atmosphere
ashes have to be disposed in hazardous waste landfills
Texas receives the trash to be incinerated from the surrounding states

17. Composting recovers organic waste
converts organic waste into mulch or humus
home composting
is used to enrich soil
reduces need for chemical fertilizer
reduces landfill waste

18. Recycling
diverted 58 million tons of materials away from incinerators and landfills in 2005
3 steps
colleting
processing
manufacturing

19. Who Recycles and Who Doesn't

20. Financial Incentives "bottle bill" passed in 1970
originally 5¢ per container of aluminum or glass
container litter has decreased 69-84%
total litter has decreased 30-64%

21. "bigger and better bill" include plastic bottles
will use unclaimed money
legislator has not pass it yet
refunds need to be adjusted for inflation
26¢ per container might be appropriate
might increase return rates

22. Industrial Solid Waste
neither municipal nor hazardous
regulated by state and local government
examples are waste from factories, mining, agriculture and oil extraction
consists of disposal, reduction and recycling methods similar to those of municipal waste
but less restricted
may not require landfill liners
may not include leachate collection systems
may not include groundwater monitoring

23. Industrial Solid Waste
less waste = higher efficiency
higher efficiency may mean higher costs
rising costs of waste disposal acts like an incentive to produce less waste
illegal dumping is a problem in Dallas

24. Industrial Ecology holistic approach
integrating principles of engineering, chemistry, ecology and economics
reduces resource inputs
minimizes physical inefficiency
maximizes economic efficiency

25. Industrial Ecology
industrial systems should function like ecological systems
Life-cycle analysis
examine the life-cycle of a product
from its origin as raw material to the end product
to its use
to its disposal
study how waste products from one can be the raw material in another

26. Industrial Ecology
businesses are taking advantage of the results of industrial ecology as
it reduces waste
lessen impact on Earth
saves money
American Airlines are buying new planes
Interface (carpet and tile company)

27. Hazardous Waste materials that can harm human health ecological damage
die-offs caused by toxins waste in rivers & lakes
atmospheric pollution
trash fires

28. Hazardous Waste Ignitable corrosive reactive toxic
Gas fire in Dallas, 2008

29. Sources Household biggest source of hazardous waste paints batteries
oils
solvents
cleaning agents
lubricants
pesticides

30. Organic Compounds
particularly hazardous as their toxicity persists over time
resist bacterial, fungal and insect activity
plastics
rubber tires
pesticides
solvents
wood preservatives

31. Heavy Metals persist over time
become a problem when disposed improperly
widely used in industry
lead
mercury
chromium
arsenic
cadmium
tin
copper

32. Proceeding for Disposal
Love Canal (Erin Brockovich)
since then people are more aware
1980s sites were designated
facilities were designated for exchange and reuse of chemicals
EPA set standards for managing hazardous waste
problem of illegal dumping

33. Methods of Disposing Hazardous Waste
help isolate the hazardous waste from people, wildlife and ecosystems
landfill
surface impoundments
deep-well injection

34. Landfill more strict guidelines than those of municipal waste
several liners
leachate removal system
located far from aquifers

35. Surface Impoundments liquid hazardous waste stored in ponds
lined with plastic and clay
water is allowed to evaporate leaving a residue of solid hazardous waste
once dry the material is removed and transported for permanent disposal
used ONLY for temporary storage
problems:
underlying can crack and leak
materials may evaporate and blow to other areas
rainstorms may cause overflow

36. Surface Impoundment

37. Deep-Well Injections long term disposal
well is drilled beneath the water table into porous rock
isolated from water table and human contact
9 billion gallons of hazardous waste per year are placed in injection wells in the U.S.
problems:
wells can corrode
wastes can leak into soil eventually entering aquifers

38. Deep-Well Injection

39. E-Waste most of them are disposed in landfills
should be treated as hazardous
waste
must be kept out of conventional landfills
recycling has become more popular

40. Cleaning Contaminated Sites
Difficult, expensive, time-consuming
1980 CERCLA
federal program to clean up sites
"superfund" legislation based on taxes to petroleum industry and chemical raw materials
EPA evaluates the site
how toxic it is
how near it is to a developed area
if there is a threat to drinking water

41. Problems congress let the superfund tax expire in 2004
since then the superfund went bankrupt
government hasn't restore funds for such program yet
fewer cleanups are being completed

42. As of mid-2007
65% of the sites listed as priority sites have been cleaned
average cost of 25 million dollars
takes years to clean up a site
we may have no idea of how to dispose some of the toxins
U.S. and other countries must PREVENT hazardous waste contamination in the first place
The End