Solid%20and%20Hazardous%20Waste

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Solid and Hazardous Waste
http//www.makevisual.com/nowlook/
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Do I have your attention?
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What is solid waste and how much is produced?

• Solid waste is any unwanted or discarded material
  that is not a liquid or a gas.
• The United States generates 33 of worlds solid
  waste.
• 12 billion tons of solid waste per year, as of
  2000, (or about 97,000 pounds per person per
  year).
• Most comes from mining, oil and natural gas
  production, agriculture, and industry.

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Municipal Solid Waste

• MSW is garbage or refuse that is generated by
  households, commercial establishments, industrial
  offices, etc. that is not considered hazardous
  waste.
• It does not include source-separated recyclables.

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Municipal Solid Waste

• Solid waste generation has increased, from 3.66
  to 4.34 pounds per person per day between 1980
  and 2009. This is about 1600 pounds per year!
• According to the EPA, about 132 million tons of
  MSW were discarded in landfills in 2009.

http//www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw20
09-fs.pdf
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Solid Waste

• in 2008 US generated about 250 million tons of
  trash (MSW)
• in 2009, Americans produced about 243 million
  tons of MSW. This averages out to about 4.3
  pounds of waste per person per day.

http//www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index
.htm
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MSW in the United States
http//www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/index
.htm
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What is hazardous waste?

• any discarded solid or liquid material that
  contains one or more of 39 toxic, carcinogenic,
  mutagenic, or teratogenic compounds above
  established limits
• catches fire easily
• is reactive or unstable
• or is capable of corroding metal containers.

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Hazardous Waste

• nonspecific sources involved in industrial
  processes such as spent halogenated solvents
• specific industrial sources, such as untreated
  wastewater from the production of the herbicide
  2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,-d)
• commercial chemical products that may be
  discarded (such as benzene) used in the
  manufacture of drugs, detergents, lubricants,
  dyes and pesticides
• wastes that are classified as toxic, such as
  vinyl chloride.

Read more Hazardous Waste - water,
environmental, pollutants, United States, types,
impact, EPA, soil, chemicals, industrial, liquid,
wells, toxic, world, human, power, sources,
disposal http//www.pollutionissues.com/Fo-Hi/Haza
rdous-Waste.htmlixzz1LOF7DCBT
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Hazardous Waste Examples

• solvents such as methylene chloride, a probable
  carcinogen that is commonly used in paint
  removers.
• Trichloroethylene, a solvent that has been found
  in groundwater. Ingesting high amounts of TCE can
  cause liver, lung and nervous system damage.
• Sludge created by industries after treating
  wastewater. Common contaminants of sludge include
  cadmium, copper, lead, and nickel. These elements
  can negatively impact both the health of humans
  and of wildlife. For example, lead is known to
  disrupt the nervous system.

http//blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2010/03/
epa_missouri_company_fresh_and_clean_restrooms_no_
so_much.php
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Hazardous Waste

• Does NOT include radioactive waste or hazardous
  materials generated by households, or mining/oil
  drilling waste.
• However, household products DO contain hazardous
  components! For example, used motor oil, wood
  preservatives, pesticides, fluorescent lights
  that contain mercury, paint thinners, and
  batteries.
• These should be disposed of separately from
  non-hazardous household waste.

http//www.oodora.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/l
ead-in-lipstick1.jpg
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Hazardous Waste

• EPA estimates at 12 trillion pounds (5.5 billion
  metric tons) produced each year in U.S. Average
  of 20 metric tons (44,000 pounds) per person.
• This is 75 of worlds hazardous waste.

Ch21 Solid and Hazardous Waste
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What are our options?

• Waste management
• Pollution (waste) prevention

http//www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com/audio/WeGotPl
ans-Rap60.mp3
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High Waste Approach

• Called waste management
• Based on idea that waste is unavoidable.
• Manage resulting waste (since cant eliminate it)
  by burying it, burning it, or shipping it off
  somewhere else.

Take the landfill quiz! http//www.howstuffworks.
com/environmental/green-science/landfill-quiz11.ht
m
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Landfills

• The trash production in the United States has
  almost tripled since 1960. This trash is handled
  in various ways.
• The amount of trash buried in landfills has
  doubled since 1960.

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Landfills

• How is a landfill made?
• http//science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/gre
  en-science/landfill.htm

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Parts of a Landfill

•                                                   
                                                    
                                                 
    This cross-section drawing shows the
  structure of a municipal solid waste landfill.
  The arrows indicate the flow of leachate.
• The basic parts of a landfill, as shown in Figure
  3, are
• Bottom liner system - separates trash and
  subsequent leachate from groundwater
• Cells (old and new) - where the trash is stored
  within the landfill
• Storm water drainage system - collects rain water
  that falls on the landfill
• Leachate collection system - collects water that
  has percolated through the landfill itself and
  contains contaminating substances (leachate)
• Methane collection system - collects methane gas
  that is formed during the breakdown of trash
• Covering or cap - seals off the top of the
  landfill

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Sanitary Landfill
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Describe the major components of a sanitary
landfill.

• clay and plastic lining to prevent leaks
• pipes to collect leachate from bottom of landfill
  (leachate is contaminated rainwater that
  percolates through solid waste)
• vent pipes to collect landfill gas (mainly
  methane and carbon dioxide) released by anaerobic
  decomposition of waste

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Is land disposal of solid waste the answer?

• Advantages
• no open burning
• little odor
• low groundwater pollution
• built quickly
• low operating costs
• can handle large amounts of water
• filled land can be used for other purposes
• no shortage of landfill space in many areas

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Is land disposal of solid waste the answer?

• Disadvantages
• noise and traffic
• dust
• air pollution from toxic gases and volatile
  organic compounds which release greenhouse gases
  (methane and carbon dioxide)
• groundwater contamination
• slow decomposition of wastes
• encourages waste production
• eventually leaks and can contaminate groundwater

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Hazardous Waste Landfill
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Is land disposal of hazardous waste the answer?

• Three choices
• deep-well disposal
• surface impoundments
• secure hazardous-waste landfills
• all have risks of leaks and groundwater
  contamination
• all encourage waste production

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Is burning solid and hazardous waste the answer?

• Advantages
• reduced trash volume
• less need for landfills
• low water pollution
• Disadvantages
• high cost
• air pollution (dioxins)
• toxic ash produced
• encourages waste production

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How can hazardous waste be detoxified?
bioremediation

• microorganisms and enzymes are used to destroy
  toxic or hazardous substances or convert them
  into harmless compounds
• good for pesticides, gasoline, diesel fuel, PCBs
  and organic solvents
• doesnt work well for toxic metals, highly
  concentrated chemical waste, complex mixtures of
  toxic chemicals

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How can hazardous waste be detoxified?
phytoremediation

• uses natural or genetically engineered plants to
  filter and remove contaminants
• works for some pesticides, organic solvents,
  radioactive metals, toxic metals like lead and
  mercury
• poplar trees
• sunflower plants (lead)
• mulberry bush (industrial sludge)
• mustard plants (lead)
• only effective to depth that plant roots reach
  is slow process animals could feed on polluted
  leaves still have to dispose of polluted plants

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Low Waste Approach

• Pollution and waste prevention
• Belief that there is no away
• Solid and hazardous waste are potential resources
  (should be recycled, reused, composted) or should
  not even be used in the first place.

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Low Waste Approach

• Goals
• Reduce
• Reuse
• Recycle and compost
• Chemically or biologically treat or incinerate
  any leftover waste if possible
• Bury the rest

http//www.keeparkansasbeautiful.com/audio/WeGotPl
ans-Country60.mp3
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How can we reduce waste and pollution?

• decrease consumption
• do more with less by redesigning manufacturing
  processes and products to use less energy and
  material
• develop products that are easy to repair, reuse,
  remanufacture, compost or recycle
• design products to last longer
• eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging
• use trash taxes to reduce waste

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What is resource productivity?

• an environmentally friendly approach to
  production based on increasing the productivity
  of resources to reduce waste
• get more product from given amount of resource
• do more with less
• goal to get 75-90 more work/service from each
  unit of material resources used

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Advantages of Resource Productivity

• Decrease depletion of earths natural resources
• Give companies competitive advantage globally
• Reduce unemployment and poverty by making it more
  profitable to employ people (especially in
  developing countries)
• Reduce inefficiency in use of matter and energy
  resources

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What is the Ecoindustrial Revolution?

• A movement to achieve industrial, economic, and
  environmental sustainability
• Encourages cleaner production where industrial
  products and processes are redesigned to be
  produced in a closed system, so that the waste of
  one manufacturer becomes the raw material for
  another.
• Packaging and used products are taken back for
  reuse, repair, recycling, and remanufacturing.
• Nothing goes to waste!

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Cleaner Production or Industrial Ecology

• Benefits
• cost savings
• reduction of resource use
• energy savings
• reduction in solid waste and pollution
• copies natural chemical cycles (biomimicry)
• resource exchange webs similar to food webs

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An Example of Cleaner Production

• Denmark coal-fired power plant, oil refinery,
  sulfuric acid producer, sheetrock plant,
  pharmaceutical plant, cement manufacturer, local
  farms, horticulture greenhouses, fish farm, and
  nearby homes cooperate to save money and convert
  wastes into resources for one another

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Service Flow Economy

• customers lease or rent services and goods,
  rather than buying them
• also called product stewardship economy

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Advantages of a Service Flow Economy

• reduces resource use and waste
• provides customers with services/products they
  need rather than trying to sell them newer models
  or outmoded products
• services/products last longer and are maintained
  by company dont need to be continually replaced

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Examples of Service Flow Economy

• Xerox leases copy machines
• chauffagistes firms that provide warmth service
  in France
• Carrier makes air-conditioning equipment.
  Leases cooling services to customers.
• Dow has chemical service business where it brings
  chemicals to the client, sets up recovery system,
  takes used chemical away, delivers new chemicals

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What is reuse?

• form of waste reduction that
• extends resource supplies
• keeps high-quality matter resources from being
  reduced to low-matter-quality waste
• reduces energy use and pollution more than
  recycling
• use things over and over again by repairing them,
  donating them, selling them, etc.

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Examples of Reuse

• metal/plastic lunchboxes
• Plastic containers used for leftovers instead of
  foil or plastic wrap
• Cloth shopping bags
• Tool libraries
• Refillable bottles (glass and plastic)

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Advantages of Reuse

• Less wasteful use of resources
• Extends resource supplies
• Maintains high quality matter
• Reduces energy use

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What is open-loop recycling?

• secondary recycling
• waste materials are converted into different and
  usually lower-quality products
• reduces amount of virgin materials in a product
  by at most 25
• also known as down-cycling or reprocessing

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Examples of Open-Loop Recycling

• used plastic bottles are made into plastic
  drainage pipes
• Used plastic bottles are made into fibers for
  carpeting or clothing or lumber

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Recycling of Cell Phones

• http//science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/gre
  en-science/recycling.htm

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What is closed-loop recycling?

• primary recycling
• wastes discarded by consumers (post consumer
  waste) are recycled to produce new products of
  the same type
• reduces amount of virgin material by 20-90 in
  new product
• Saves energy
• Reduces pollution

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Examples of Closed Loop Recycling

• Make Al cans from recycled Al cans
• Recycling old newspaper to make paperboard and
  other paper products

http//www.teachersdomain.org/asset/ess05_vid_recy
cleplant/
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What is compost?

• a combination of decomposed plant and animal
  materials that are being decomposed mainly
  through aerobic decomposition results in
  organically rich, black soil

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What is pay-as-you-throw?

• charges for garbage collection depends on amount
  of waste being disposed of
• materials separated out for recycling are hauled
  away free

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What is centralized recycling of solid waste?

• process by which solid waste is collected in one
  centralized location (MRF or materials-recovery
  facility)
• At this location, waste is separated into usable
  materials which are then sold to manufacturers as
  raw materials, and whatever is left is recycled
  or incinerated to produce steam or electricity to
  run the recovery plant or to sell. Ash is buried
  in landfill.

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Advantages of MRFs

• encourages large-scale recycling

http//www.sjrecycles.org/residents/mrf.asp
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Disadvantages of MRFs

• expensive to build and operate
• can emit toxic air pollution
• produce toxic ash
• Need large amount of trash to be financially
  successful (thus almost promotes greater trash
  production!)

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What is consumer separation of solid waste?

• Consumer separates out recyclables and reusable
  items from their trash before putting it out for
  collection
• Recyclables can be picked up by compartmentalized
  city collection trucks, private haulers, or
  volunteer recycling organizations
• Recyclables could be brought to drop-off center,
  buyback centers, or returned for a deposit refund
• Referred to as source separation

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Advantages to Source Separation

• little air and water pollution produced
• low startup cost moderate operating costs
• saves more energy and provides more jobs per unit
  of material than MRFs, landfills, incinerators
• yields cleaner and usually more valuable
  recyclables
• educates people about need for waste reduction,
  reuse, and recycling

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Disadvantages to Source Separation

• Some recyclables are valuable (aluminum and
  paper) and encourage stealing from curbside
  containers
• Not everyone willing to participate

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Does recycling make economic sense?

• NO
• costs more to recycle than to send them to
  landfill
• fanatical recyclers
• not needed to save landfill space in all
  communities

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Does recycling make economic sense?

• YES
• benefit of recycling is for people and the
  environment, not just to conserve landfill space
  and reduce use of incinerators
• net economic, health, environmental benefits
  outweigh costs of recycling
• many programs actually making money

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Why dont we have more reduction and recycling?

• consumer items dont include environmental and
  health costs of raw materials
• there are more tax breaks for resource-extracting
  companies than there are for recycling and reuse
  industries
• there is a lack of steady, large markets for
  recycled materials

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Ways to Encourage Recycling

• tax virgin resources and phase out subsidies for
  extraction of virgin resources
• lower or eliminate taxes on recycled materials
  based on post-consumer waste content
• provide subsidies for reuse and post-consumer
  waste recycling
• increase use of pay-as-you-throw system
• encourage or require government purchases of
  recycled products to help increase demand and
  lower prices
• view landfill and incineration of solid waste as
  a last resort used only if product cant be
  reused, recycled, or composted
• require labels on all products listing
  pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content

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Dealing with Materials Use and Wastes
Fig. 21.4, p. 521
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Trends in Municipal Solid Waste in 2009

• 61 million tons of MSW (excluding composting) was
  collected through recycling.
• Composting recovered about 21 million tons of
  waste.
• 29 million tons of waste was combusted for energy
  recovery (about 12 percent).
• Approximately, ____ waste was produced per person
  per day in 2009. After subtracting out what we
  recycled and composted, we combusted (with energy
  recovery) or discarded 2.9 pounds per person per
  day.

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Trends in Municipal Solid Waste in 2009

• In 2009, office-type paper recovery rose to about
  74 percent (4 million tons),.
• About 60 percent of yard trimmings were
  recovered.
• Metals were recycled at a rate of about 34.5
  percent.
• By recycling more than 7 million tons of metals
  (which includes aluminum, steel, and mixed
  metals), we eliminated greenhouse gas (GHG)
  emissions totaling about 25 million metric tons
  of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E). This is
  equivalent to removing almost 5 million cars from
  the road for one year.

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We still have a long way to go!

• About 132 million tons of MSW (54.3 percent) were
  still discarded in landfills in 2009 .

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Benefits of Recycling
Fig. 21.7, p. 530