1. Chapter 19
Waste

2. What is solid waste.. Where does your trash go when you throw it away?
Where are our dumps located?
Do we take other peoples trash?

3. Solid Waste Any discarded material that isn’t a liquid or a gas
Junk mail, coffee grounds, old cars, sewer solid waste…

4. Solid Waste Who is the biggest producer of solid waste?
America, but other countries are catching up.
Our waste production has doubled since 1960.

5. Space and Waste
many towns are running out of space to dispose of the amounts of waste that people create
Population and Waste
-while the Earth’s human population and the amount of waste we produce grows larger, the amount of land available per person becomes smaller

6. today, the average person in the US produces 4
today, the average person in the US produces 4.4 pounds of solid waste per day
-because the human population and amount of available land is decreasing it is getting harder to dispose of the waste we create

7. B. Not All Wastes Are Equal
Problems are caused not only by the amount of solid waste, but by the type of solid waste
There are two main types of solid waste: biodegradable and nonbiodegradable
-biodegradable- if it can be broken down by biological processes

8. Biodegradable -examples are plant and animal matter
-products made from natural materials are usually biodegradable
-newspapers, paper bags, cotton fibers, leather
Products made from synthetic materials are not biodegradable

9. Nonbiodegradable
-a nonbiodegradable material- cannot be broken down by natural processes
-synthetic materials are made by combining chemicals to form compounds (made in a lab) that do not form naturally
-polyester, nylon, and plastic are examples of synthetic materials
synthetic materials are composed of hydrogen & carbon

10. Plastic Problems
-plastics illustrate how nonbiodegradable materials can cause problems
-made from petroleum or natural gas – they consist mostly of carbon and hydrogen but plastics are put together in molecular chains that are not found in nature
-the plastics we throw away may accumulate and last for hundreds of yearsC
Compare the peanut 

11. C. Types of Solid Waste
Most of what we throw out on a day-to-day basis is called municipal solid waste
Manufacturing waste – like computers, and mining waste make up about 70% of the other types of solid waste produced in the US
Municipal Solid Waste (waste produced by a community)

12. Municipal solid waste
Municipal solid waste – waste produced by households and businesses
-makes up about 2% of the total solid waste in the US
-amounts to more than 236 million tons each year- enough to fill garbage trucks that would stretch around the Earth about 6 times!

13. sewer/household waste
the amount of municipal waste is growing much faster than the amount of mining or agricultural waste
9% of solid waste is from Manufacturing, while Mining and Agriculture make up an additional 87% !
-solid waste from manufacturing, mining, and agriculture makes up most of the rest of the total solid waste produced in the US

14. What Does it Look Like?
Waste from manufacturing includes things like scrap metal, plastics, paper, sludge, and ash
-consumers (you) indirectly produce this waste by purchasing products that have been manufactured
-waste from mining includes rock and minerals that are left over from excavation and processing
-this waste is left exposed in large heaps, dumped in oceans or rivers, disposed of by refilling and landscaping abandoned mines

15. agricultural waste includes crop wastes and manure
-because it is biodegradable it can be broken down and returned to the soil
-the increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides may cause agricultural waste more difficult to dispose of – if it is
returned to the soil it could harm plants and animals or contaminate groundwater

16. D. Solid Waste Management
Most of our municipal waste in the US is sent to landfills and some of it is incinerated, or burned
-more than 30% is recycled in comparison to 1970 when we recycled only 6.6 Landfills
more than 50% of the municipal and manufacturing solid waste created in the US is sent to landfills

17. landfill
landfill – a permanent waste-disposal facility where wastes are put in the ground and covered each day with a layer of soil, plastic, or both
A modern landfill has many parts
the most important function of a landfill is to contain waste so that it does not pollute the environment
waste must be prevented from leaching toxins into the soil and groundwater

19. Problems with Landfills
One problem with landfills is leachate
leachate- a liquid that has passed through compacted solid waste in a landfill forms when water seeps down through a landfill and collects dissolved chemicals from decomposing garbage
may contain chemicals from paints, pesticides, cleansers, cans, batteries, and appliances
landfills typically have monitoring wells and storage tanks to measure and store leachate
stored leachate can then be treated as waste water
if landfills are not monitored properly, leachate can flow into groundwater supplies and make water from nearby wells unsafe to drink - Makes chemical soup

20. Methane is another problem with landfills
decomposing organic wastes may produce methane, a highly flammable gas.
it can be pumped out of landfills and used as a fuel
if it is not monitored safely, it may seep through the ground and into basements of homes up to 300m (1000 ft) from a landfill
if methane is ignited by a spark, it can cause dangerous explosions –it burns with a blue flame

21. Methane
Methane is a plentiful source of fuel
Future???

22. Law The Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA)
Passed in 1976 and updated in 1984
Requires new landfills to build safeguards lining the sides with clay or plastic liners and must have systems for collecting and treating Leachate
vent pipes must be installed to carry methane out of the land fill where it can be released or burned to produce energy

23. Safeguards this increases the cost of building a landfill
-finding acceptable places to put a landfill is difficult
-must be close to the city producing the waste but far enough from residents who object from having a landfill near their homes

24. Building More Landfills
although we can build safer landfills, we are running out of space we are willing to develop for new landfills
the materials we bury in landfills are not decomposing as fast as we can fill landfills
even biodegradable materials take several years to decompose
-the total number of active landfills in 1988 was 8,000 but by 2005 the total number was less than 1,700 because many had been filled to capacity
the US EPA estimates that active landfills in 20 states will be filled to capacity within 10 years

25. Incinerators
one option for reducing the amount of solid waste is to– BURN IT in an incinerator
-waste that is burned does not disappear, they can reduce the weight of solid waste by 75%, they cannot
separate materials that should not be incinerated before burning the waste
some items that should not be burned such as cleansers, batteries, and paints end up in the air as polluting gases
the ash left over must be disposed of in a landfill

26. Incinerators
incinerated material takes up less space but the incinerated material can be more toxic than it was before being incinerated
-even incinerators that have special air pollution control devices release small amounts of poisonous gases and particles of toxic heavy metals into the air

27. Incinerators

28. II. Reducing Solid Waste
What are 3 ways to reduce waste going into landfills?
Produce less waste
Recycle
Change the materials we use

29. II. Reducing Solid Waste
We have to find ways to effectively reduce solid waste
-producing less waste, recycling, changing the materials and products we use
-source reduction – any change in design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste

30. A. Reducing Solid Waste
If we produce less waste we will reduce the expense and difficulty of collecting and disposing of it
Buying less
-as a consumer you can influence manufacturers to reduce solid waste
-buy products that last longer, or reusable products, you will encourage manufacturers to produce more of those products

31. How to produce less waste
1. Use both sides of a sheet of paper
2. Carry a fork in your purse and don’t use plastic ones
Don’t by over packaged products- Lunchables, single serving Pringles
Use cloth diapers (they have good ones now!)
Make sturdier products that will last longer

32. buy dish towels instead of paper towels or rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones
-until 1965 nearly all bottled beverages were sold in bottles designed to be returned to stores when empty
now there is a demand for disposable bottles, but if consumers began to use more refillable bottles, beverage manufacturers would begin producing more of them

33. Lasting Longer
-manufacturers could also reduce waste and conserve resources by redesigning products to use less material
-a return to products that last longer or designed to be easily repaired would save resources and waste disposal problems

34. B. Recycling
Recycling- the process of reusing materials or recovering valuable materials from waste or scrap
-making products from recycled materials usually saves energy, water, and other resources
-95% less energy is needed to produce aluminum from recycled aluminum than from ore
-70% less energy is needed to make paper from recycled paper than from trees

35. Recycling: A Series of Steps
-discarded materials need to be collected and sorted by type
-each type of material must be taken to a facility where it can be cleaned and made ready to use again
-the materials are used to manufacture new products
-new products are sold to consumers
-if more people buy products made from recycled materials, there will be an increase in the demand for these products
Terracycle
-demand encourages manufacturers to build facilities to make recycled products

36. Composting
-yard waste makes up more than 15% of a community’s solid waste
-none of this should go to a landfill because it is biodegradable but it does
-it along with fruit and vegetable trimmings and table scraps will decompose in a compost pile
-the more oxygen and moisture there is in a compost pile the more rapidly microorganisms will break down the biodegradable waste
-compost- a dark brown, crumbly material made from decomposed plant and animal matter that is spread on gardens and fields to enrich the soil

37. Composting
Yard waste makes about 1/5 th of all municipal waste (grass clippings)
Why not have a compost bin??

38. Compost compost is rich in nutrients that help plants grow
-some cities collect yard waste from homes and compost it at a large, central facility
-can be an effective way of handling waste from food-processing plants and restaurants, manure from animal feedlots, and municipal sewage sludge
-if all biodegradable wastes were composted, the amount of solid waste going to landfills could be reduced

39. Cornstarch peanuts
Take a cornstarch peanut and put it in water. What happens?
Is this a good solution?

40. C. Changing the Materials We Use
-simply changing the materials we use could eliminate much of the solid waste we produce
single-serve drink boxes are made of foil, cardboard, and plastic – hard to recycle because there is no easy way to separate the three components
-most of our waste could be recycled if such products were no longer mad and if all drinks came in recyclable containers

41. Recycling
recycling other common household products into new, usable products could eliminate solid waste
newspaper, egg cartons, catalogs, junk mail, aluminum cans
Degradable plastics
-several companies have made new kinds of plastics that are degradable
photodegradable plastics – made so that when it is left in the sun for many weeks, it becomes weak and brittle and breaks into pieces

42. green plastic
green plastic – made by blending the sugars in plants with a special chemical agent to make plastic
-more environmentally friendly than other plastics
-require 20-50% less energy than the production of regular plastics
Problems with degradable plastics
-the plastic parts are only reduced to smaller pieces, this can help reduce the harmful effects of plastic litter

43. Problems with Plastic
-preventing the plastic from getting caught in the throats or around the necks of animals
-plastic still doesn’t go away, the pieces just get spread around and still remain in landfills for many years

44. III. Hazardous Waste Hazardous waste? What is it?
Wastes that are highly toxic and highly corrosive and can be explosive
They can be solid, liquid or gaseous

45. Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste – any waste that is a risk to the health of humans or other living things
A. Types of Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste can be solids, liquids, or gases.
-contain toxic, corrosive, or explosive materials

46. Examples of Hazardous Waste
Dyes, Cleaners, Solvents (Nail polish remover)
Heavy metals: lead, mercury, zinc
PCB’s, oil, plastics
Pesticides
Radio active waste

47. the methods used to dispose of hazardous wastes are not as carefully planned as the manufacturing processes that produced them
-improperly stored or discarded wastes leak into the air, soil and groundwater causing huge health problems
-Federal laws were enacted to clean up old waste sites and regulate future waste disposal

48. Toxic Nightmare Love Canal – Niagra Falls, NY
In 1942 a company dumped toxic waste for 11 years 22,000 tons.
The clay lining of the canal was supposed to hold in the chemicals and the dump was capped and covered with soil
The land was then sold to an elementary school & homes were built as well.
No one were told- children’s health was affected, asthma, seizures, birth defects

49. Love Canal
A Modern Day Ghost Town

50. B. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires producers of hazardous waste to keep records of how their wastes are handled from the time the wastes are made to the time they are placed in an approved disposal facility
-if wastes cause a problem in the future, the producer is legally responsible for the problem
-RCRA also requires that all hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities are build and operated according to standards that are designed to prevent the facilities from polluting the environment

51. C. The Superfund Act
Because the safe disposal of hazardous waste is expensive, companies that produce hazardous wastes may be tempted to illegally dump them to save money
In 1980, Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) – also known as the Superfund Act
-gave the EPA the right to sue the owners of hazardous waste sites who had illegally dumped waste

52. Superfund Act
-the EPA gained the right to force the owners to pay for the cleanup
-created a fund of money to pay for cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites
Cleaning up improperly discarded waste is difficult and extremely expensive
-many Superfund sites still need to be cleaned up – as of 2001 only 75 of 1,200 had been completed

53. Coffee County Superfund
METHYL ISOBUTYL KETONE
Inhalation: Causes irritation to the nose and throat. Concentrations above the TLV may cause headache, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, and vomiting. Higher concentrations may cause central nervous system depression and unconsciousness. Ingestion: May produce abdominal pain, nausea. Aspiration into lungs can produce severe lung damage and is a medical emergency. Other symptoms expected to parallel inhalation. Skin Contact: Causes irritation to skin. Symptoms include redness, itching, and pain. May be absorbed through the skin with possible systemic effects. Eye Contact: Vapors are irritating to the eyes. Splashes can produce painful irritation and eye damage. Chronic Exposure: Prolonged skin contact may defat the skin and produce dermatitis. Chronic exposure may cause central nervous system effects. Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions: Persons with pre-existing skin disorders or eye problems or impaired respiratory function may be more susceptible to the effects of the substance.
ARNOLD ENGINEERING DEVELOP. CTR. (USAF), COFFEE County
Polluting Surface Water

54. D. Hazardous Waste Management
Each year, the US produces 252 million metric tons of hazardous waste
-it is difficult to guarantee that the disposal techniques we use today will not eventually pollute our air, food, or water
Preventing Hazardous Waste
-one way to prevent hazardous waste is to produce less of it
-many manufacturers have discovered that they can redesign manufacturing methods to produce less or no hazardous waste

55. Solutions -another way is to find a way to reuse it
-companies often work together to reduce waste – a company that has a no use for a cleaning solvent may sell it to another company that has a use for it

56. Solutions Conversion into Nonhazardous Substances
-some types of wastes can be treated with chemicals to make the wastes less hazardous
-add a base – like lime – to an acid to neutralize it
-cyanides which are extremely poisonous can be combined with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and nitrogen
-some can be treated biologically – microorganisms can eat it!

57. Hazardous Waste Management
Produce Less – The best way
Reuse – 2nd Best
Convert to non hazardous substances - Neutralize
Incinerate – For some
Land Disposal – Most utilized See Page 320

58. Land Disposal -most hazardous waste is disposed of on land
-deep-well injection – wastes are pumped deep into the ground where they are absorbed into a dry layer of rock below the level of groundwater
-after the wastes are buried below the level of groundwater, the wastes are covered with cement to prevent contamination of the groundwater

59. y
Land Disposal Option 1
Deep Well Injection of toxic waste

60. Land Disposal Option 2
-surface impoundment – pond that has a sealed bottom
-wastes accumulate and settle to the bottom of the pond, while water evaporates from the pond and leaves room to add more wastes
-hazardous waste in concentrated or solid form are often put in barrels and buried in landfills
-hazardous waste landfills are similar to those used for ordinary solid waste, but these have extra safety precautions to prevent leakage

61. Land Disposal Option 2
Surface impoundment
Barrels
Lined Ponds

62. Land Disposal
in theory, if properly designed, built, and maintained they should provide safe ways to dispose of hazardous
wastes, however if not properly maintained, can develop leaks that may result in contamination of the air, soil, or groundwater

63. Biologically Treating Hazardous Waste
-some hazardous waste can be absorbed or broken down or their toxicity can be reduced when they are treated with biological and chemical agents
-certain bacterial can be used to clean up an area in the environment that has been contaminated with hazardous waste
-such as crude oil, PCBs, and cyanide

64. Biological Control
-scientists grow the bacteria in a lab and apply to the contaminated area to break down the hazardous substances
-plants that absorb heavy metals can also be planted in contaminated areas

65. Incinerating Hazardous Waste
-some hazardous waste can be disposed of by burning in specially designed incinerators
-most expensive form of waste disposal because they require a lot of energy to operate as well as pollution-control devices, need to be monitored carefully so that hazardous gases and particles are not released into the air
-the leftover ash needs to be buried in a hazardous waste landfill
-when we put hazardous waste into disposal facilities for long-term storage, wastes do not disappear, instead they must be closely monitored

66. Exporting Hazardous Waste
radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors are particularly difficult – the only way to make them non hazardous is to let them sit for hundreds of thousands of years
Exporting Hazardous Waste – Walter Hill Middle Point landfill
-Until recently, only local laws regulated waste disposal in the US, so companies would get rid of them by sending them to landfills in other states
-they are also exported through international trade agreements
-because it is inexpensive
-because there may be a facility in another country that specializes in treating, disposing of, or recycling a particular hazardous waste

67. E. Hazardous Waste at Home
Everyday household products can also create hazardous waste
-chemicals including household paint, pesticides, and batteries all create hazardous waste
Hazardous material poured down the drain or put in the trash end up in solid waste landfills – they should be in a hazardous waste landfill

68. Disposing of Household Hazardous Waste
-more and more cities around the country have begun to provide collection for household hazardous waste
-once or twice a year, or there is a place to take it
-trained workers sort the waste and send some for recycling and pack other materials into barrels for disposal
-used batteries and motor oil are recycled
-paint may be blended and used for city park maintenance or to clean up graffiti

69. I don’t produce hazardous waste…
Not an industry problem alone
Paint
Pesticides
Batteries
End up in sewers, landfills, your backyard. Household hazardous waste collection days
Find yearly schedule at
Saturday, May 22, Coffee County
8:00 - 1:00 Solid Waste Dept Murfreesboro Hwy – Manchester (931)

70. Motor Oil
-it is illegal to pour used motor oil on the ground or in the trash
-contributes to the most oil pollution in the ocean
-take to an automobile service station, or put in a designated oil-collection receptacle

71. Motor Oil
2L of used motor oil can make 1 million gallons of freshwater undrinkable if it makes it into an aquifer
Don’t pour it out!!! Take it to the service station to be recycled. They may charge a small fee but it’s worth it.

72. Assignment
Inventory your home for hazardous wastes. Look for cleaners, oil, weed killer,paint…
List them and present a plan for proper disposal of each ON YOUR GARBOLOGY WS.
(usually listed on the back of the container)
Take ruined unusable chemicals to the hazardous waste fair this Saturday

73. Video TRASHED/The Story of Stuff