Solid and Hazardous Waste

1. Solid and Hazardous Waste Chapter 21

2. Core Case Study: E-waste—An Exploding Problem • Electronic waste, e-waste: fastest growing solid waste problem • Composition includes • High-quality plastics • Valuable metals • Toxic and hazardous pollutants

3. Fig. 21-1, p. 560

4. Core Case Study: E-wasteAn Exploding Problem • Shipped to other countries • 70% of the world’s E-waste is shipped to China • Rest to India and poor African Nations • Worker- many of them children- dismantle product to recover valuable parts • They are exposed to toxic metals and other harmful chemicals • International Basel Convention • Bans transferring hazardous wastes from developed countries to developing countries • US, Afghanistan, and Haiti did not ratify

5. Core Case Study: E-waste—An Exploding Problem • European Union requires Cradle to Grave approach • What should be done? • Recycle • US recycles roughly 10-15% • Changing • E-cycle • Reuse • Prevention approach: remove the toxic materials

6. 21-1 We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful Things and Hazardous Materials • Solid waste- any solid unwanted or discarded materials • Industrial solid • Produced by mines, agriculture, and industries • Municipal solid waste (MSW) • Trash that comes from households and workplaces • Hazardous, toxic, waste • Poisonous, dangerously chemically reactive, corrosive, or flammable ex. Industrial solvents, car batteries(lead), dry-cell batteries(mercury and cadmium) and incinerator ash • Hazardous wastes • Organic compounds (pesticides, PCB’s, dioxins) • Toxic heavy metals (lead, mercury, arsenic) • Radioactive waste (nuclear power plants, weapons facilities)

7. We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful Things and Hazardous Materials • 80–90% of hazardous wastes produced by developed countries • Why reduce solid wastes? • ¾ of the materials are an unnecessary waste of the earth's resources • Huge amounts of air pollution, greenhouse gases, and water pollution

8. Fig. 21-2, p. 562

9. Solid Waste in the United States • Leader in solid waste problem • With 4.6% of the world’s population we produce 1/3rd of the world’s solid waste • Leader in trash production, by weight, per person • 98.5% of all solid waste in US is • Industrial-76% • Agriculture- 13% • Industry- 9.5% • For every pound of electronics ~8,000 pounds of waste is produced

10. 1.5 % is Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) • About 55% of U.S. MSW is dumped into landfills, 30% is recycled or composted, and 15% is burned in incinerators. • Recycling is helping

11. 2006 p. 587

12. Fig. S3-15, p. S18

13. Fig. S3-16, p. S19

14. Each year, the United States produces enough MSW to fill a bumper to bumper convoy of garbage trucks long enough to encircle the earth almost 8 times!

15. Solid wastes polluting a river in Jakarta, Indonesia Fig. 21-3, p. 562

16. Case Study: Trash Production, Recycling in NYC: Past, Present, and Future • 1920–1940: Highest trash due to coal ash • 1962 and 1963: Lowest trash, coal burning phased out • 1964 and 1974: Rise in trash due to throwaway containers • 1999: Mandatory recycling • 2001: Fresh Kills landfill closed, trash hauling

17. 2001: Landfill temporarily reopened to accept 9/11 debris • 2006: The City of New York releases Master Plan for Fresh Kills Park • 2010: Last batch of 9/11 debris sifted for human remains • 2040: Full build out of Fresh Kills Park projected.

18. 1990

19. Tire dump in Midway, Colorado Fig. 21-4, p. 563

20. 21-2 We Can Burn or Bury Solid Waste or Produce Less of It • Waste Management –”where to put it?” • Waste Reduction- “how can we avoid it?” • Integrated waste management • Uses a variety of strategies • 54% of MSW is buried in landfills • 25% recycled • 14% is incinerated • 7 %- composted

21. Fig. 21-5, p. 565

22. Integrated waste management Fig. 21-6, p. 565

23. Solutions: Reducing Solid Waste Refuse: to buy items that we really don’t need.Reduce: consume less and live a simpler andless stressful life by practicing simplicity.Reuse: rely more on items that can be used over and over.Repurpose: use something for another purposeinstead of throwing it away.Recycle: paper, glass, cans, plastics…and buyitems made from recycled materials

24. We Can Cut Solid Wastes by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling • Seven strategies: (1) Redesign manufacturing processes and products to use less material and energy (2) Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less waste and pollution (3) Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost, or recycle (4) Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging (5) Use fee-per-bag waste collection systems (6) Establish cradle-to grave responsibility (7) Restructure urban transportation systems

25. 21-3 Reuse: Important Way to Reduce Solid Waste, Pollution and to Save Money • Reuse: clean and use materials over and over • Ex. Coffee cups • Downside of reuse in developing countries • Often savage in dumps for useful items are exposed to toxins and infectious disease • Salvaging automobiles parts • Rechargeable batteries

26. Case Study: Use of Refillable Containers • Reuse and recycle • Refillable glass beverage bottles • Refillable soft drink bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic • Paper, plastic, or reusable cloth bags • Pros • Cons

27. There Are Two Types of Recycling • Primary, closed-loop recycling • Materials are recycled into products of the same type • Secondary recycling • Waste products are recycled into different products • Used tires shredded and converted into rubberized road surface. • Newspapers transformed into cellulose insulation. • Types of wastes that can be recycled • Preconsumer: internal waste • Postconsumer: external waste

28. We Can Mix or Separate Household Solid Wastes for Recycling • Materials-recovery facilities (MRFs) • Source separation • Pay-as-you-throw • Fee-per-bag • Which program is more cost effective? • Which is friendlier to the environment?

29. We Can Copy Nature and Recycle Biodegradable Solid Wastes • Composting • Individual • Municipal • Benefits • Successful program in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

30. Fig. 21-10, p. 570

31. Case Study: Recycling Paper • Production of paper versus recycled paper • Energy use- pulp and paper industries are the 5th largest energy users • Water use – uses more water to produce a metric ton than any other industry • Pollution- In US it is the third largest polluter • Recycling paper uses 64% less energy and produces 35% less water pollution and 74%less air pollution • Countries that are recycling • U.S -56% of its waste paper • Denmark-97% • South Korea- 77% • Germany- 72% • Replacement of chlorine-based bleaching chemicals with H2O2 or O2

32. Case Study: Recycling Plastics • Plastics: composed of resins • Produced mainly from oil and natural gas • Most containers discarded: 4% recycled • Litter: beaches, water • Significance?

33. Fig. 21-11, p. 571

34. Case Study: Recycling Plastics (2) • Low plastic recycling rate • Hard to isolate one type of plastic • Low yields of plastic • Cheaper to make it new

35. Waste Management at the Empire State Plaza

36. Fig. 21-12, p. 573

37. Science Focus: Bioplastics • Plastics from soybeans: not a new concept • Key to bioplastics: catalysts • Sources • Corn • Soy • Sugarcane

38. Science Focus: Bioplastics • Sources cont… • Switchgrass • Chicken feathers • Some garbage • CO2 from coal-burning plant emissions • Benefits: lighter, stronger, cheaper, and biodegradable

39. Fig. 21-12, p. 573

40. We Can Encourage Reuse and Recycling • What hinders reuse and recycling? • Encourage reuse and recycling • Government • Increase subsidies and tax breaks for using such products • Decrease subsidies and tax breaks for making items from virgin resources

41. 21-4 Burning Solid Waste Has Advantages and Disadvantages • Waste-to-energy incinerators • 600 Globally • Most in Great Britain • Advantages • Disadvantages

42. waste-to-energy incinerator Fig. 21-13, p. 575

43. Fig. 21-14, p. 575

44. Burying Solid Waste Has Advantages and Disadvantages • Open dumps

45. When landfill is full, layers of soil and clay seal in trash Sanitary landfills Topsoil Electricity generator building Sand Clay Leachate treatment system Methane storage and compressor building Garbage Probes to detect methane leaks Pipes collect explosive methane for use as fuel to generate electricity Methane gas recovery well Leachate storage tank Compacted solid waste Groundwater monitoring well Leachate pipes Leachate pumped up to storage tank for safe disposal Garbage Sand Synthetic liner Leachate monitoring well Groundwater Sand Clay and plastic lining to prevent leaks; pipes collect leachate from bottom of landfill Clay Subsoil

46. Fig. 21-16, p. 576

47. 21-5 We Can Use Integrated Management of Hazardous Waste • Integrated management of hazardous wastes • Produce less • Convert to less hazardous substances • Rest in long-term safe storage • Increased use for postconsumer hazardous waste

48. We Can Detoxify Hazardous Wastes • Collect and then detoxify • Physical methods • Chemical methods • Use nanomagnets • Bioremediation • Phytoremediation • Incineration • Using a plasma arc torch

49. phytoremediation Fig. 21-18, p. 579

50. Fig. 21-19, p. 579