Chapter 24 Solid and Hazardous Waste

1. Chapter 24Solid and Hazardous Waste

2. Overview of Chapter 24 • Solid Waste • Types of Solid Waste • Waste Prevention • Reducing the Amount of Waste • Reusing Products • Recycling Materials • Hazardous Waste • Types of Hazardous Waste • Management of Hazardous Waste • Environmental Justice

3. Solid Waste • US generates more solid waste per capita than any other country • 2.1kg per person per day • Types of Solid Waste • Municipal solid waste • Solid material discarded by homes, office buildings, retail stores, schools, hospitals, prisons, etc • Relatively small portion of solid waste produced • Non-municipal solid waste • Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining

4. Composition of Municipal Solid Waste

5. Disposal of Solid Waste • Three methods • Sanitary Landfills • Incineration • Recycling

6. Sanitary Landfill • Compacting and burying waste under a shallow layer of soil • Most common method of disposal

7. Sanitary Landfill • 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

8. Sanitary Landfill • Special Problem of Plastic • Much of plastic is from packaging • Chemically stable and do not readily break down and decompose • Special Problem of Tires • Cannot be melted and reused for tires • Made from materials that cannot be recycled • Can be incinerated or shredded

9. 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 (right)

10. Incineration • Types of Incinerators • Mass burn (below) • Modular • Refuse-derived

11. Incinerator • Problems Associated with Incineration • Yields air pollution • Produce large amounts of ash • Site selection often controversial

12. Composting • Includes: • Food scraps • Sewage sludge • Agricultural manure • Yard waste • Reduces yard waste in landfills • Can be sold or distributed to community

13. Waste Prevention • Three Goals • (1) Reduce the amount of waste • (2) Reuse products • (3) Recycle materials

14. Reducing Waste • Purchase products with less packaging

15. Reducing Waste • Source reduction • Products are designed and manufactured in ways that decrease the volume of solid waste in the waste stream • Pollution Prevention Act (1990) • Dematerialization • Progressive decrease in the size and weight of a product as a result of technological improvements

16. Reusing Products • Refilling glass beverage bottles • Heavier glass that costs more • Japan recycles almost all bottles • Reused 20 times

17. Recycling Materials • Every ton of recycled paper saves: • 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

18. Recycling • Recycling Paper • US recycles 50% • Many developed countries are higher • Recycling Glass • US recycles 25% • Costs less than new glass • Can be used to make glassphalt (right)

19. Recycling • Recycling Aluminum • Making new can from recycled one costs far less than making a brand new one

20. Recycling • Recycling Metals other than Aluminum • Lead, gold, iron, steel, silver and zinc • Metallic composition is often unknown • Makes recycling difficult • Recycling Plastic • Less than 20% is recycled • Less expensive to make from raw materials

21. Recycling • Recycling Tires • Few products are made from old tires • Playground equipment • Trashcans • Garden hose • Carpet • Roofing materials • 36% of tires are currently recycled to make other products

22. Integrated Waste Management

23. Hazardous Waste • Any discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment • Reactive, corrosive, explosive or toxic chemicals • Types of Hazardous Waste • Dioxins • PCBs • Radioactive waste

24. Case-In-Point Hanford Nuclear Reservation

25. 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) • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980)

26. Management of Hazardous Waste • Cleaning up existing hazardous waste: superfund program • 400,000 waste sites • Leaking chemical storage tanks and drums (right) • Pesticides dumps • Piles of mining wastes • Must be cleaned up

27. Management of Hazardous Waste • Superfund National Priorities List • 2006: 1558 sites on the list • States with the greatest number of sites • New Jersey (115) • California (93) • Pennsylvania (93) • New York (86) • Michigan (65)

28. Management of Hazardous Waste • Biological Treatment of Hazardous Chemicals • Bioremediation • Phytoremediation • Management the Waste we are Producing Now • (1) source reduction • (2) conversion to less hazardous materials • (3) long-term storage

29. Management of Hazardous Waste • Hazardous Waste Landfill

30. Environmental Justice • Environmental Justice and Ethical Issues • Right of every citizen, regardless of age, race, gender, social class, to adequate protection from environmental hazards • Fundamental human right • Grassroots campaign • Mandating environmental Justice- Federal Level

31. Environmental Justice • International Waste Management • Developed countries sometimes send their waste to developing countries • Less expensive than following laws within the country • Controversial aspect of waste management • Basel Convention (1989) • Restricts international transport of hazardous waste