1 / 10

The Three R's: Exploring Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling in Waste Management

This chapter discusses the crucial concepts of reduction, reuse, and recycling within municipal solid waste (MSW) management. Students will learn about the current recycling rates, including the highest recycling rates among materials such as auto batteries (93%) and the low rates of glass containers (22%). The text emphasizes sustainable practices and the importance of source reduction as a preferred waste management method. Additionally, it addresses challenges in recycling, particularly concerning e-waste and the need for alternatives like tree-free paper.

noam
Télécharger la présentation

The Three R's: Exploring Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling in Waste Management

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Part Seven, Issue 27 The Three R’s: Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling

  2. Objectives After reading the assigned chapter and reviewing the materials presented the students will be able to understand: • How much municipal solid waste is recycled? • What materials have the highest recycling rates? • Is recycling consistent with the principles of sustainability?

  3. Recycling • Paying people to recycle has tripled recycling rates in Philadelphia neighborhoods. • The bins are scanned (barcode records household address) at curbside and weighed and Recycle Bank Dollars coupons are issued that can be redeemed at various businesses or donated to charity. • The waste haulers offset this cost by reduced dumping fees and revenue from some of the recyclable material. • The 72.3 million tons of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) that was recycled represents a recycling rate of 36.6 percent. • Auto batteries (93%) have the highest recycling rate (fig 27-2, page 295) and glass containers (22%) have the lowest recycling rate.

  4. Pre-consumer versus Post-consumer • The average American consumes over 700 pounds of paper a year (9 telephone pole sized trees), 90% of which is virgin (no recycled content). • Post consumer waste (PCW) is paper that has been previously used by the end consumer. • High PCW paper diverts material from landfills. • An alternative to both virgin and recycled paper is tree-free paper made from fibers such as hemp, sisal, abaca, wheat straw, corn, and banana stalks.

  5. E-Waste • In 2005, and estimated 63 million computers in the United States became “obsolete.” • Each CRT (Cathode ray tube) replaced by a flat panel television saves about 8 pounds of lead. • Hewlett-Packard has two recycling plants that process 1.5 million pounds of electronics a month. • About 50 to 80% of US e-waste is processed in China, India, Pakistan and other countries under largely unregulated, unhealthy conditions.

  6. Reduction and Reuse • An alternative to recycling is source reduction, which is the preferred method of waste management. • Source reduction refers to buying less, buying more durable products, buying products with reduced packaging, and buying products designed to be reused.

  7. The Future of Plastic • One of the problems with plastic recycling is that it does not “close the loop.” • Unlike paper and aluminum, post consumer plastic is not remanufactured into the same product that was recycled.

  8. Aluminum • The most common ore of aluminum is bauxite. • During processing, four tins of bauxite ore yield two tons of alumina. • The two tons of alumina further reduce to one ton of aluminum metal. • Refining aluminum from ore is extremely energy intensive, so most aluminum refiners are concentrated in areas where electric rates are abnormally low. • The Sierra Club and the Competitive Enterprise Institute favor the elimination of subsidies.

  9. Summary • The 72.3 million tons of MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) that was recycled represents a recycling rate of 36.6 percent. • Auto batteries (93%) have the highest recycling rate (fig 27-2, page 295) and glass containers (22%) have the lowest recycling rate. • The average American consumes over 700 pounds of paper a year (9 telephone pole sized trees), 90% of which is virgin (no recycled content). • Post consumer waste (PCW) is paper that has been previously used by the end consumer. • An alternative to both virgin and recycled paper is tree-free paper made from fibers such as hemp, sisal, abaca, wheat straw, corn, and banana stalks. • About 50 to 80% of US e-waste is processed in China, India, Pakistan and other countries under largely unregulated, unhealthy conditions. • Source reduction refers to buying less, buying more durable products, buying products with reduced packaging, and buying products designed to be reused. • Unlike paper and aluminum, post consumer plastic is not remanufactured into the same product that was recycled. • Refining aluminum from ore is extremely energy intensive, so most aluminum refiners are concentrated in areas where electric rates are abnormally low.

  10. Home Work • 1. What materials have the highest recycle rate and lowest recycle rate? • 2. What is an alternative to both virgin and recycled paper? • 3. What is source reduction?

More Related