Solid

1
Chapter 14 Solid Hazardous Waste
2
Where are we going?
1. Waste in Modern Society solid waste, hazardous
waste 2. Dealing with Wasteoptions, reducing,
reusing, recycling 3. Recyclingtypes, benefits,
issues 4. Managing Wastedetoxifying, burning,
burying, exporting
3
Case Study Love Canal

• 1971-77 Love Canal, New York, residents began
  complaining of chemical smells, chemical burns on
  children, many health problems
• housing development on old toxic waste site
• 1978 closed school, relocated families closest to
  dumps.
• 1988 OxyChem found liable 1994 OxyChem reached
  98 million settlement.

4
1. Waste in Modern Society

• solid waste any unwanted or discarded material
  that is not a liquid or gas
• U.S. 4.6 of world population, generates 33 of
  solid waste, 10 billion metric tons/year

Sources of solid waste
5
Municipal Solid Waste

• in U.S., 680 (1,500 pounds) kilograms/person/year
  
• 54 dumped in landfills
• 16 burned in incinerators wastetoenergy
  plants
• 30 recycled or composted.

6
Hazardous Waste

• Definition in U.S.
• toxic contains one or more of 39 toxic,
  carcinogenic, or mutagenic, compounds that exceed
  established limits
• flammable (gasoline, paints, solvents...)
• or
• reactive/unstable can explode or release toxic
  fumes (acids, bases, chlorine bleach).

7
Hazardous Waste does NOT include

• many important omissions
• radioactive wastes, hazardous toxic wastes
  discarded by households, mining wastes, oil gas
  drilling wastes, liquid waste containing organic
  compounds, cement kiln dust, wastes from small
  businesses industries
• Hence hazard waste laws do NOT regulate
• 95 of the countrys hazard waste.
• environmentalists call this
• "linguistic detoxification"

8
Dealing With Waste

• waste management (a high waste approach)
• waste is an unavoidable product of economic
  growth, lets bury it or burn it
• waste prevention (a low waste approaches) there
  is no away, hence
• 1) reduce,
• 2) reuse,
• 3) recycle compost,
• 4) chemically biologically treat
• 5) bury

9
Dealing with Solid Waste
Priorities suggested for dealing with material
use and solid waste
Not applied in the US
10
Dealing with Hazardous Waste
Not applied in the US
11
Green Design
minimizes environmental impact by efficient use
of energy materials.
12
How can We Reduce Waste Pollution

• decrease consumption do you really need that,
  secondhand?
• redesign manufacturing processes to produce less
  waste toxic waste can be recycled within plants,
  or replaced with water-based solvents
• produce durable goods that can be repaired or
  maintained i.e. soda and bier bottles, rebuild
  car parts
• eliminate unnecessary packaging sell the
  product not the wrapping
• institute "trash taxes" by charging for
  unnecessary waste. Pay-as-you-throw

13
Reuse

• extends resource supplies, prevent pollution.
• refillable containers
• developing countries shifting to nonrefillable
  containers
• various developed countries returning to
  refillable containers (e.g., Denmark banned
  nonrefillable containers, Finland 95
  refillable, Germany73 refillable)
• various states in U.S. require deposits

14
Reuse

• tires retreads, construction, artificial reefs.
• paper or plastic?
• plastic bags need less energy than paper
• bags, but degrade slowly use nonrenewable
  resources
• So bring your own bag

15
3. Recycling

• various kinds of reuse of resources
• composting organic materials are broken down by
  microorganisms to produce a humus-like material
  used to condition soils
• primary (closed loop) reusing waste materials to
  produce materials of the same type (e.g.,
  newspaper to make newspaper, aluminum cans)
• secondary (open loop) using waste materials to
  produce different products (e.g., glass bottles
  to produce aggregate for roads).

16
Generalized material-recovery
17
Aluminum

• recycled aluminum produces 95 less air
  pollution, uses 97 less water, requires 95
  less energy than mining processing aluminum
  ore
• market price high because of high costs of mining
  processing raw ore
• many environmentalists view aluminum cans as
  undesirable refillable glass or plastic bottles
  more energyefficient less polluting.

18
Wastepaper

• easy to recycle, good market, significant
  consumer demand
• recycling postconsumer waste prevents disposal by
  incineration or land fills
• recycling preconsumer waste (scraps cuttings
  from paper printing plants) has always been
  done, is therefore just a marketing ploy.

19
Recycling Sunday Newspaper

• uses 3064 less energy
• reduces air pollution by pulp mills 7495
• lowers water pollution by 35
• prevents groundwater contamination by toxic ink
  leaching from landfills
• conserves large amounts of water
• saves landfill space
• creates five times more jobs
• saves money.

20
Plastics

• must be sorted by type (according to resin)
• current price of virgin plastic resins is about
  40 lower than recycled resins (low oil price)
• PET, used for plastic beverage bottles, prices
  competitive
• often used in secondary recycling,
• e.g., construction materials plastic bags made
  from beverage bottles.

21
4. Managing Waste

• Detoxification
• i.e. microorganisms enzymes can break down
  some toxic materials, plants can take up toxic
  materials from the soil.
• Incineration
• reduces overall quantity but causes air
  pollution i.e. dioxins (chlorinated
  hydrocarbons), mercury lead

22
Waste-to-Energy Incineration
23
4. Managing Waste

• land disposal - burial or impoundment
• sanitary land fill stores solid wastes in
  compacted layers that are covered daily with
  layers of clay or plastic foam
• most U.S. hazardous waste disposed by deepwell
  injections,
• surface impoundment,
• stateoftheart landfills

24
State-of-the-art sanitary landfill, minimize
environmental contaminations
25
Underground Storage
26
LongTerm Impoundment
27
Hazardous Waste Regulation

• Two major U.S. laws
• Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA)
• requires EPA to identify hazardous wastes set
  standards
• requires permits for firms that produce more than
  100 kilograms (220 pounds)
• "cradle to grave" to keep track of waste
  transferred from point of origin to approved
  disposal facilities.

28
Hazardous Waste Regulation

• Superfund Act (1990)
• Environmental Response, Compensation Liability
  Act
• established 16.3 billion Superfund to identify
  clean up abandoned hazardous waste dump sites
  such as Love Canal
• cleanup based on "polluter pays principle,
  hence, no tax money is used
• currently 1,360 sites on National Priority List.

29
Case Study Lead

• acute lead poisoning causes severe neurological
  problems children who survive acute lead
  poisoning can display decline in mental
  capabilities, paralysis, blindness, mental
  retardation
• chronic lead poisoning results because of
  bioaccumulation especially threat to children
• exposure in U.S. decreased due to regulation that
  phased out lead in gasoline solder
• other sources include old paint, plumbing,
  ceramic glazes, air pollution from incineration.

30
Case Study Lead
31
Case Study Dioxins

• family of 75 chlorinated hydrocarbons formed as
  unwanted byproducts in many manufacturing
  processes
• promote cancer, cause reproductive problems,
  weaken immune system
• sources medical waste incinerators, paper mills,
  iron ore sintering plants, cement kilns used to
  burn hazardous wastes.

32
Case Study Chlorine Cl

• chlorine used to produce plastics, kilns, paper
  wood pulp, purify water, produce household
  bleaching agents
• many chlorine containing compounds are
  persistent, bioaccumulate in body fat, cause
  serious health problems
• less harmful affordable alternatives (e.g.,
  ozone to purify water).

33
5. Achieving a LowWaste Society

• reducing, reusing, recycling ("the three R's")
  most effective means, in that order
• consumer choice of quality "green" products, that
  last a long time, have minimal environmental
  impacts during manufacture, have parts that can
  be reused or recycled
• lowwaste practices "built into the system" by
  redesigning manufacturing processes refocusing
  research development efforts
• grassroots efforts to support environmentally
  sound practices for incinerators, landfills,
  treatment plants for hazardous radioactive
  wastes.

34
"Solid wastes are only raw materials we're too
stupid to use." -- Arthur C. Clarke