1. Solid and Hazardous Waste23
Solid and Hazardous Waste

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
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3. Solid Waste
US generates more solid waste per capita than any other country
1.98kg (4.34lb) per person per day
243 million tons in 2009 (down from 2007)
Waste generation is highest in developed countries
Instead of repairing items, they are replaced
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4. Types of Solid Waste Municipal solid waste Non-municipal solid waste
Solid material discarded by homes, office buildings, retail stores, schools, etc. (changes over years….now more paper and plastic)
Relatively small portion of solid waste produced
Non-municipal solid waste
Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining
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5. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste
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6. Open Dumps
Open Dumps
Open, unregulated dumps are still the predominant method of waste disposal in developing countries.
Most developed countries forbid open dumping.

7. Disposal of Solid Waste
Four methods to get rid of waste
Sanitary Landfills (bury it)
Incineration (burn it)
Dump it
Compost it (Recycling)
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8. Sanitary Landfill
Compacting and burying waste under a shallow layer of soil. (54% of solid waste)
Most common method of disposal
Dirt takes up as much as 20% of landfill space.
Since 1994, all operating landfills in the US have been required to control hazardous substances
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
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9. Sanitary Landfill
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10. Exporting Waste
Although most industrialized nations have agreed to stop shipping hazardous and toxic waste to less-developed countries, the practice still continues.
Garbage imperialism also operates in wealthier countries.
Indian reservations increasingly being approached to store wastes on reservations.

11. Sanitary Landfill Special Problem: Plastic Special Problem: Tires
Much of plastic is from packaging
Chemically stable and do not readily break down and decompose
Special Problem: Tires
Made from materials that cannot be recycled
Can be incinerated or shredded
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12. Incineration Two positive things come from 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
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13. Types of incinerators
Mass burn is a large furnace that burns all solid waste except for unburnable items such as refrigerators. Recover energy. Creates air pollution problems.
Modular incinerators are smaller incinerators that burn all solid waste. They are located at factories and so are less expensive to build.
Refuse-derived fuel- is where only the combustible portion of solid waste is burned. Refuse is sorted to remove recyclable and unburnable materials.
Higher energy content than raw trash.
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14. Incineration and Resource Recovery
Energy Recovery - Heat derived from incinerated refuse is a useful resource.
Steam used for heating buildings or generating electricity.

15. Mass burn , waste to energy incineration
Mass burn (below), Modular, Refuse-derived
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16. Incineration - Problems
Production of hazardous air pollutants
Carbon monoxide, particulates, heavy metals
Reduced by
Lime Scrubbers
Electrostatic Precipitators
Byproduct - Bottom ash and Fly ash
Must be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills
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17. 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
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18. Waste Prevention Three Goals Reduce the amount of waste Reuse products
Recycle materials
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19. Reducing Waste Purchase products with less packaging
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20. Reducing Waste Source reduction Pollution Prevention Act (1990)
Products designed and manufactured to decrease the volume of solid waste
Reuse and recycle wastes at the plant where they are generated
Pollution Prevention Act (1990)
Dematerialization
Progressive decrease in the size and weight of a product as a result of technological improvements
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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 US States have deposits on cans and bottles to promote reuse
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22. 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
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23. Recycling US recycles 38% of Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Paper
This has increased due to consumer demand for recycled paper products
Recycling Glass
US recycles 25%
Costs producers less than new glass (right)
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24. 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)
51% of aluminum was recycled in 2009
Recycling Metals other than Aluminum
Lead, gold, iron, steel, silver and zinc
Metallic composition is often unknown
Makes recycling difficult
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25. Recycling Recycling Plastic 14% of all plastic is recycled (2009)
Less expensive to make from raw materials
28% 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
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26. Recycling Recycling Tires Few products are made from old tires
Playground equipment
Trashcans
Garden hose
Carpet
Roofing materials
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27. Integrated Waste Management
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28. Love Canal Toxic Waste Site
Hazardous Waste
Any discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment
Reactive, corrosive, explosive or toxic chemicals
1% of waste stream in US
Love Canal Toxic Waste Site
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29. Hazardous Waste
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30. Hazardous Waste Dioxin PCBs
Formed as byproduct of combustion of chlorine compounds
Bioaccumulate and biomagnify through foodweb
Cause cancer, effect reproductive, immune and nervous system
PCBs
Used as cooling fluid, fire retardant, lubricator
Disposed of in open dumps, sewers and fields in 1970s - issue in groundwater today
Endocrine disrupter
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31. Case-In-Point Hanford Nuclear Reservation
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32. 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) (RCRA)
Comprehensive program requiring rigorous testing and management of toxic and hazardous substances
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980) CERCLA
Commonly known as Superfund
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33. Superfund Program Cleaning up existing hazardous waste:
400,000 waste sites
Leaking chemical storage tanks and drums (below)
Pesticides dumps
Piles of mining wastes
Must be cleaned up
over 11,000 sites on list
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34. CERCLA
Government does not have to prove anyone violated a law, or what role they played in a superfund site.
Liability under CERCLA is “strict, joint, and several”, meaning anyone associated with a site can be held responsible for the entire clean-up cost.

35. Management of Hazardous Waste
Superfund National Priorities List
2011: 1,290 sites on the list
States with the greatest number of sites
New Jersey (112)
Pennsylvania (95)
California (94)
New York (87)
Michigan (67)
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36. Brownfield
Contaminated properties that have been abandoned or are not being used up to potential because of pollution concerns.
Up to one-third of all commercial industrial sites in urban core of many big cities fall into this category.
In many cases, property owners complain that unreasonably high purity levels are demanded in remediation programs.

37. 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
Ex: Indian mustard removes heavy metals
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38. Examples of Phytoremediation
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39. Management of Hazardous Waste
Source reduction
Conversion to less hazardous materials
Long-term storage
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40. Hazardous Waste Landfill
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