Chapter 19 Waste

1. Chapter 19 Waste 19.1 solid Waste 19.2 Reducing Solid Waste 19.3 Hazardous Waste p. 480-503

2. Key Terms • Solid waste • Biodegradable • Municipal solid waste • Landfill • Leachate • Source reduction • Recycling • Compost • Hazardous waste • Deep- well injection • Surface impoundment

3. 19.1 Solid Waste Objectives • Name one characteristic that makes a material biodegradable • Id 2 types of solid waste • Describe how a modern landfill works • Name 2 Environmental problems caused by landfills

4. The Generation of Waste • The US generates more than 10 billion metric tons of solid waste (any solid material that is thrown away) • More than doubled since the 1960’s Space and waste- • Most towns are running out of space • 1987- barge with 3,200 tons of garbage left Islip NY looking for a place to put waste • Sailed Gulf of Mexico for 5months looking for place, finally burned in NY and 430 tons of ask sent back to be buried

5. The Generation of Waste Population and Waste • As human pop and amount of waste grows larger the amount of land available per person becomes smaller • Getting harder to dispose of the waste we create • Average person 4.4lbs per day

6. Not All Waste Are Equal Biodegradable • Can be broken down by biological processes • Plant and animal matter, newspaper, cotton, leather Non biodegradable- synthetic • Chemicals to form compounds not naturally created • Polyester, nylon and plastic

7. Plastic Problems • Made from petroleum or natural gas (carbon and hydrogen)- man made not naturally found • May last for 100s of years

8. Types of Solid Waste 1. Municipal Solid Waste- • Most of what we toss out • About 2% of total solid waste- more than 210 million metric tons each year • Growing much faster than the amount of mining or agricultural waste

9. Types of Solid Waste 2. Solid Waste from Manufacturing, Mining and Agriculture • Manufacturing and mining waste make up 70% • 56% of solid waste from manufacturing (scrap metal, plastics, paper, sludge and ash) • You purchase products that have been manufactured • 9% is Agricultural waste (crops and manure) if contains fertilizers and pesticides difficult to dispose of

10. Solid Waste Management • 1970 only recycled 6.6%, 2004 28%, 2011 35% Landfills- • Permanent waste-disposal facility where waste are put into the ground and covered each day with a layer of soil, plastic or both • More than 50% of municipal and manufacturing solid waste created in the us end up in landfills • Contain the waste that is buried inside it • http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/landfill.htm

11. Where Waste in the US Goes

12. Problems with Landfills • Leachate- liquid that has passed thought compacted solid waste in a landfill, contains dissolved chemicals from decomposing garbage. (paints, pesticides, cleansers, cans, batteries and appliances) • Most landfills have monitoring wells and storage tanks to measure and store leachate • Can be treated as waste water Problems: • If not monitored- can seep into groundwater, making nearby wells unsafe to drink • Methane- highly flammable gas, if not pumped out or is not monitored it can seep through the ground and into the basement of homes up to 300m from a landfill, can cause explosions.

14. Safeguarding Landfills Resource conservation and Recovery Act- passed 1976, updated in 1984, states that new landfills be built with safeguards to reduce pollution problems • Must be lined with clay and plastic liner • Must have system to collect and treating leachate • Vent pipes carry methane out, collect or burn for energy New laws and regulations cause: • Increases cost of building • Finding places to build • Close to city but far from residents • Cost of transporting trash to sites

15. Safeguarding Landfills Building more Landfills- • Running out of space • Materials are not decomposing fast enough • Active landfills in 1988- 8,000- by 1990 they will filled • EPA estimates in 20 state that would be filled to capacity by 2014

16. Safeguarding Landfills Incinerators- reduce weight by 75% • One option to reduce solid waste • 1999- 102 operational incinerators that burned up to 94,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste per day Problems: • items are not separated before burning  air pollution, toxic gasses • Ash goes in landfill- can be more toxic • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb-RoAWv3ro

18. 19.2 Reducing Solid Waste • Identify 3 ways you can produce less waste • Describe how you can use our consumer buying power to reduce solid waste • List the steps that an item must go through to be recycled • List 2 benefits of composting • Name one advantage and one disadvantage to producing degradable plastics

19. 19.2 Reducing Solid Waste- Common Sense?? • Source Reduction- reduce solid waste before it gets to the landfills or incinerators • Buying less- buy products that have less packaging • Buy products that last longer • Recyclable products • Your buying habits influence the manufacture  they will change their habits to fit yours

20. Recycling • Finding the best use of all the materials we throw away • Saves energy , water and other resources • 95% less energy is needed to produce aluminum from recycled aluminum Steps: • Collected and sorted • Cleaned and made ready to be used again • Used to manufacture new products • New products sold to consumer • Increase demand  increase supply

21. Composting • Yard waste makes up more than 1.5% of a community’s solid waste • Biodegradable • Use bacteria to break down • Compost- dark brown, crumbly material made from decomposed plant and animal matter that is spread on gardens/fields for nutrients

22. Composting- benefits • Keeps organic waste out of landfills • Provides nutrients to the soil • Increases beneficial soil organisms, worms and centipedes • Suppress some plant diseases • Reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides • Protects soil from erosion

23. Changing the Materials We Use • Change material eliminate waste • Drink boxes difficult to recycle • Buy items that can be recycled or made from recycled products • Paper or Plastic please? • Think before you just toss in the trash!

24. Degradable Plastic- ?? • Most are not biodegradable • Photodegradable plastic- left in the sun for several weeks it becomes weak and brittle and will break into pieces. • Green plastic- made by blending sugars in plants with a special chemical agent, made from living things and are considered to be more eco friendly • requires 20-50% less fossil fuels • Degrade within 45dyas of being thrown away (bacteria eats sugar)

25. Degradable Plastic- ?? Problems: • Plastic parts are only reduced to smaller pieces- will never disappear completely • Current issues- needs more research but can be linked to some health issues (?) • http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/do-we-need-biodegradable-plastics.htm

26. 19.3 Hazardous Waste • Name 2 characteristics of hazardous waste • Describe one law that governs hazardous waste • Describe 2 ways in which hazardous waste is disposed.

27. 19.3 Types of Hazardous Waste • Any waste that is a risk to health of humans or other living things • Can be solid, liquids or gases • Toxic, corrosive, explosive materials • Love Canal, Niagra Falls NY, homes built on land that was used as a dump site for toxic waste • http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/lovecanal/01.html • http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/niagara/children-raised-in-love-canal-speak-out

28. Types of Hazardous Waste • Dyes, cleansers and solvents • PCBs from old electrical equipment • Plastics, solvents, lubricants and sealants • Toxic heavy metals, lead, mercury, cadmium and zinc • Pesticides • Radioactive waste

29. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) • Passed in 1976 and amended in 1984 • Regulate solid and hazardous waste disposal and protect humans and the environment from waste contamination • Must keep logs of how waste is disposed and how much • Special regulations and laws to facilities being built

30. Superfund Act • Expensive to properly dispose of waste • 1980- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act • Forces the owners to pay for cleanup • Funds to clean up abandoned sites • Love Canal- $275 million

31. Hazardous Waste Management • US produces 252 million metric tons of HW and is growing each year (2004) Prevention: • Produce less of it • Reuse it • Convert into nonhazardous substances

32. HW- management Land Disposal • Most is disposed on land Deep-well injection- wastes are pumped deep into the ground were they are absorbed into dry layer of rock below the level of ground water, waste is covered with cement to prevent contamination of ground water Surface impoundment- pond with a sealed bottom, solids collected and buried in landfills * Must be monitored for safe over years (air, soil and groundwater)

34. HW- management Biologically Treating • Certain bacteria can be used to clean up area that has been contaminated with hazardous substances (crude oil, PCB, cyanide) • Flowering plants and trees • Other chemicals

35. HW management Incinerating HW • Burning • Many problems- most expensive, pollution controls, ash must be buried Exporting HW • Used to send them to other states • International trade agreements

36. HW at Home • Motor oil, paints, batteries, computers, phones, pesticides, fertilizers, cleaners, antifreeze • Public collection dates • Trained workers sort materials and recycle items • Oil- 185 gallons of used motor oil a year, this does not include car oil changing places