1. Chapter 30
Waste Management

2. Early Waste Disposal
First part of Industrial Revolution: not much waste – relatively small
“Dilute and Disperse”
Factories were built near rivers for:
Easy transport of materials
Sufficient water for processing & cooling
Easy disposal of waste in river

3. Early – Cont’d As industry & urban areas expanded:
“Concentrate and Contain”
Trenches in ground
Metal drums
Leakages
Major waste disposal problems

4. AS A RESULT
Running out of landfill space --- existing sites are filling up and new sites are difficult to get approved
NIMBY
Cost- 10 yrs ago – 1 metric ton = $5-$10 now - $40 or even $75 in cities.

5. Modern Trends Industrial Ecology
The study of relationships among industrial systems and their links to natural systems
Waste is a resource “Out of Place”
“ZERO WASTE”
Recycle waste for other uses.

6. Integrated Waste Management
Includes:
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Composting
Landfill
Incineration

7. Reduce, Reuse Recycle
Reduce the amt. of urban waste that is disposed in landfills, incinerated or disposed of in other ways.
50% reduction can be facilitated by:
Better design of packaging
Large scale composting
Recycling programs
Today most areas recycle about 30% of waste
With intense recycling it is thought that 80 – 90% of waste could be recycled.

8. Public support for Recycling
Fast food restaurants use less packaging & on-site recycling for paper & plastic
Grocery stores using paper and canvas shopping bags
Companies redesigning products so that they are more easily disassembled. (Toasters, washing machines & automobiles)

9. ReUse Refillable water containers Petroleum based
1000 yrs to break down
2,000,000 plastic bottles thrown away every HOUR !!!

10. Materials Management
A visionary goal requiring more sustainable use of materials combined with resource conservation
Eliminate subsides for extraction of virgin materials – this doesn’t encourage recycling
Establish “green building” incentives – use recycled materials
Assess financial penalties – poor materials mgmt.
Provide financial incentives – benefits to the environ.
Increase new jobs

11. Examples: Steel Mills are located in California and Nebraska
Resource = scrap metal
Paper Mill & Steel Mill in New Jersey
Resource = recycled paper and scrap metal
50% of steel currently comes from scrap

12. Recycling Primary: converted into new products of the same type.
Ex: aluminum cans are recycled to produce more aluminum cans
Secondary: converted to a different type of product.
Ex: rubber tires converted to rubberized road surface material

13. Recycling Advantages Disadvantages Reduces greenhouse gases
Reduces need for mining material
Decreases water pollution
Reduces solid waste production & disposal
Disadvantages
Decreases jobs& profits at landfills and incinerators
Expensive compared to landfills
Money generated from glass & plastic is reduced

14. Solid-Waste Management
Composition
On-Site Disposal
Composting
Incineration
Open Dumps
Sanitary Landfills

15. Activity
Read : Case Study (pg. 645) and Summarize COMPOSITION: Copy Pie Chart on Page650 of the text

17. On-Site Disposal
Garbage Disposal
Grinding kitchen waste

18. Composting
Biochemical process in which organic materials decompose to rich, soil-like material
Disadvantage: composting plant debris previously treated with herbicides or fertilizers.

19. Incineration
Combustible waste burned at temps high enough (1650o – 1830o)to consume all combustible materials, leaving only ash & non-combustibles for disposal in landfills.
Proposed to reduce the volume of waste by 90%. Actually reduces approx. 50%
Produces heat that can then be used to produce electricity

20. Incineration Cont’d Disadvantage:
Creates greenhouse gas emissions – CO2
Releases air pollutants- nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, mercury & dioxins
Scrubbers are used to eliminate this…
Creates large amts. of ash, that must be landfilled
Expensive to build and operate. Cost is 2x that of landfills

21. Open Dumps Refuse is piled up without being covered.
Located wherever land is available w/o regard to safety, health hazards or aesthetic degradation.
Common sites: abandoned mines/quarries, natural low lying areas or below towns.
Unsightly, breeding ground for pests, air pollution, groundwater pollution

22. Sanitary Landfills Municipal Solid Waste Landfill
Designed to concentrate and contain refuse w/o creating a nuisance or hazard to public health or safety.
Confine waste to smallest volume within the smallest area
Cover with a thin layer of soil.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES IT SANITARY !!
Restricts access to the waste…

23. Sanitary Landfills
Must meet specific federal req. mandated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for location, design, operation, closure, monitoring and financial assurance.
Constructed with special liners & impermeable soil layers to prevent leaching into local water supplies.
Procedures must be in place to monitor and control leaks.

27. Sanitary Landfill Disadvantages
Landfills release greenhouse gases (methane and CO2) as wastes decompose.
Toxic materials leach out of landfill as liquid draws it downward. (LEACHATE)
Leachate can make its way to the groundwater
Air Pollution is generated from the landfill and the trucks transporting the waste.

28. Landfills & Sustainability
Use clay and plastic liners to prevent leaks
Use piping to collect leachate
Have leachate storage tanks & treatment in place
Collect methane for fuel for electrical generation
Monitor groundwater for toxins from leachate.

29. Sanitary Landfill Major drawback is a suitable location.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION !!!
CAN’T FIND ONE !!!
Major drawback is a suitable location.
Need landfills in highly populated areas
Land is scarce & expensive
Best place is arid and away from surface or groundwater.

30. Landfill - Bottom line
May not be sited on floodplains, wetlands, earthquake zones, unstable land or airports
Must have liners
Must have a leachate collection system
Operators must monitor groundwater
Monitoring must continue for 30 yrs after landfill is closed

31. Hazardous Waste
Waste that is classified as definitely or potentially hazardous to the health of people
Often corrosive, flammable or dangerously chemically reactive

32. Hazardous Waste Legislation
Know these acts, terms, places -
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
CERCLA High level radioactive
Environmental Audit waste
Secure Landfill
Land Application
Surface Impoundment
Deep-Well Disposal
Love Canal
Integrated Waste mgmt
Major classes of hazardous waste

34. Alternatives to Hazardous Waste
Source reduction, Recycling and resources recovery, Treatment, Incineration
Advantages
Chemicals can be reused
Less toxic = less problems
Smaller volume of waste
Less stress of waste disposal sites

36. Ocean Dumping Types of Waste
Dredge spoils
Industrial wastes
Sewage sludge
Construction debris
Solid waste
The most seriously affected areas are near shore