Solid Waste

1. Solid Waste

2. What is a solid waste • Any material that we discard, that is not liquid or gas, is solid waste • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW): • Solid waste from home or office • Industrial Solid Waste: • Solid waste produced from Mines, Agriculture or Industry

3. What is a Hazardous Waste? • Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment • Ignitability - Ignitable wastes create fires under certain conditions or are spontaneously combustible, or have a flash point less than 60 °C (140 °F). • Corrosivity - Corrosive wastes are acids or bases (pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5) that are capable of corroding metal containers, such as storage tanks, drums, and barrels. • Reactivity - Reactive wastes are unstable under "normal" conditions. They can cause explosions, toxic fumes, gases, or vapors when mixed with water. • Toxicity - Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed (e.g., containing mercury, lead, etc.). When toxic wastes are disposed of on land, contaminated liquid may drain (leach) from the waste and pollute ground water. Toxicity is defined through a laboratory procedure called the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). • Major types: Organics and Heavy Metals, Radioactive wastes

4. U.S. Scenario • 4.6% of world population • 50% of toxic wastes • 1/3rd of solid wastes • Mining (76%), agricultural (13%), industrial (9.5%) = 98.5% • Municipal solid waste – 1.5%

5. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

7. Waste Management

9. Recycling in USA Auto batteries: 99.2%Office Type Papers: 70.9%Yard Trimmings: 64.7%Steel Cans: 62.8% Aluminum Beer and Soft Drink Cans: 48.2%Tires: 35.4%HDPE Natural (White Translucent) Bottles: 29.3%Glass Containers: 28.0% PET Bottles and Jars: 27.2%

10. Benefits of Recycling • USA recycled 83 million tons of MSW. • This provides an annual benefit of 182 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions reduced, • comparable to removing the emissions from 33 million passenger cars. • But the ultimate benefits from recycling are cleaner land, air, and water, overall better health, and a more sustainable economy.

11. Municipal Waste • On-site (at home) • Open Dump • Sanitary Landfill • Incineration • Ocean dumping

12. Open Dump • Unsanitary, draws pests and vermin, harmful runoff and leachates, toxic gases • Still accounts for half of solid waste • Several thousand open dumps in the USA

13. Sanitary Landfill • Sanitary Landfill • Layer of compacted trash covered with a layer of earth once a day and a thicker layer when the site is full • Require impermeable barriers to stop escape of leachates: can cause problem by overflow • Gases produced by decomposing garbage needs venting • 1 acre/10,000 people: acute space problem: wastes piling up over 150 million tons/year; • # of landfills down from 8000(1988) to 3091(1996) • NIMBY, NIMFYE, NIMEY, NOPE • NJ ships >5 million tons of waste every year

15. Sanitary Landfill • Avoid: • Swampy area/ Flood plains /coastal areas • Fractures or porous rocks • High water table • Prefer: • Clay layers • Heads of gullies

16. Monitoring of Sanitary Landfills • Gases: Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen sulphide • Heavy Metals: Lead, Chromium in soil • Soluble substances: chloride, nitrate, sulfate • Surface Run-offs • Vegetation: may pick up toxic substances • Plant residue in soil • Paper/plastics etc – blown by the wind

18. Incineration • Solves space problem but: • produces toxic gases like Cl, HCl, HCN, SO2 • High temp furnaces break down hazardous compounds but are expensive ($75 - $2K/ton) • Heat generated can be recovered: % of waste burnt • Japan 67%, Switzerland 80%, USA 6% • North Little Rock, AK saving $50K in heating cost and reducing landfill requirement by 95% • How many MSW combustors exist in the United States? In 1996, 110 combustors with energy recovery existed with the capacity to burn up to 100,000 tons of MSW per day.

20. Ocean Dumping • Out of sight, free of emission control norms • Contributes to ocean pollution • Can wash back on beaches, and can cause death of marine mammals • Preferred method: incineration in open sea • Ocean Dumping Ban Act, 1988: bans dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste • Dredge spoils still dumped in oceans, can cause habitat destruction and export of fluvial pollutants

21. Reducing Waste • Incineration, compacting • Hog feed: requires heat treatment • Composting: requires separation of organics from glass and metals • Recycling and Reusing • Recycle of glass containers: 5 million tons • Plastic: marked by types for easy recycling • Converted into Fibers, trash bags, plastic lumber, fill for pillows, insulation etc • Junked cars: 150 – 200 kg of plastics: soon to be recycled

22. Municipal Waste • On-site (at home) • Open Dump • Sanitary Landfill • Incineration • Ocean dumping

23. Open Dump • Unsanitary, draws pests and vermin, harmful runoff and leachates, toxic gases • Still accounts for half of solid waste • Several thousand open dumps in the USA

24. Sanitary Landfill • Sanitary Landfill • Layer of compacted trash covered with a layer of earth once a day and a thicker layer when the site is full • Require impermeable barriers to stop escape of leachates: can cause problem by overflow • Gases produced by decomposing garbage needs venting • 1 acre/10,000 people: acute space problem: wastes piling up over 150 million tons/year; • # of landfills down from 8000(1988) to 3091(1996) • NIMBY, NIMFYE, NIMEY, NOPE • NJ ships >5 million tons of waste every year

26. Sanitary Landfill • Avoid: • Swampy area/ Flood plains /coastal areas • Fractures or porous rocks • High water table • Prefer: • Clay layers • Heads of gullies

27. Monitoring of Sanitary Landfills • Gases: Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen sulphide • Heavy Metals: Lead, Chromium in soil • Soluble substances: chloride, nitrate, sulfate • Surface Run-offs • Vegetation: may pick up toxic substances • Plant residue in soil • Paper/plastics etc – blown by the wind

29. Incineration • Solves space problem but: • produces toxic gases like Cl, HCl, HCN, SO2 • High temp furnaces break down hazardous compounds but are expensive ($75 - $2K/ton) • Heat generated can be recovered: % of waste burnt • Japan 67%, Switzerland 80%, USA 6% • North Little Rock, AK saving $50K in heating cost and reducing landfill requirement by 95% • How many MSW combustors exist in the United States? In 1996, 110 combustors with energy recovery existed with the capacity to burn up to 100,000 tons of MSW per day.

31. Ocean Dumping • Out of sight, free of emission control norms • Contributes to ocean pollution • Can wash back on beaches, and can cause death of marine mammals • Preferred method: incineration in open sea • Ocean Dumping Ban Act, 1988: bans dumping of sewage sludge and industrial waste • Dredge spoils still dumped in oceans, can cause habitat destruction and export of fluvial pollutants

32. Reducing Waste • Incineration, compacting • Hog feed: requires heat treatment • Composting: requires separation of organics from glass and metals • Recycling and Reusing • Recycle of glass containers: 5 million tons • Plastic: marked by types for easy recycling • Converted into Fibers, trash bags, plastic lumber, fill for pillows, insulation etc • Junked cars: 150 – 200 kg of plastics: soon to be recycled

33. In 1996, recycling of solid waste in the United States prevented the release of 33 million tons of carbon into the air—roughly the amount emitted annually by 25 million cars. • 1 ton of newspaper=18 trees, 3 m3 of landfill, 60% less energy. Govt recycling saving 223,000 tons, 4 million trees, $7.4 million Auto Steel Aluminum Paper & Yard Glass Plastic Tires Batteries Cans Packaging Paperboard waste container container

34. Recycling: facts and figures • In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. • 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled. • Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.

36. Waste Exchange • One persons waste can be another persons raw material • Fluorite from Al smelter in MD • Isopropyl alcohol = cleaning solvent • Nitric Acid from Electronic Industry = high grade fertilizer • Spent acid of steel industry = control for H2S

37. Liquid Waste • Sewage • Highly toxic Industrial Waste & Used Oil • Dilute and Disperse • Concentrate and Contain • Secure Landfill • Sealed drums to be put in impermeable holds with monitoring wells to check for leakage: does not work • Deep well Disposal • Pumping in deep porous layer bounded by impermeable formations, well below water table • $1 million to drill, $15-20/ton afterwards • Restricted by geological considerations, can trigger earthquakes

40. Story of Love Canal • A ditch 20m wide, 3m deep and 1km long • 1890: Built near Niagara falls for hydro-power • 1905: Hooker Electrochemical established • 1942: Hooker buys the site for waste disposal, 20,000 tons of toxic chemical dumped in 10 yr • 1953: site bought by Niagara School board for $1, Hooker absolved of any future damage • 1977: study shows toxic effects in adjoining homes,>40 toxic chemicals identified • 1978: Health advisory, 100 families to be shifted • 1980: remedial measures taken, EPA study shows chromosome defects in residents, President Carter declares emergency, provides federal aid • 1981: Over 500 families moved out, hundreds waiting for aid • EPA estimate: 30,000 hazardous waste sites in US, only 10% of hazardous wastes properly disposed, 300 million tons generated each year

41. In 1996, recycling of solid waste in the United States prevented the release of 33 million tons of carbon into the air—roughly the amount emitted annually by 25 million cars. • 1 ton of newspaper=18 trees, 3 m3 of landfill, 60% less energy. Govt recycling saving 223,000 tons, 4 million trees, $7.4 million Auto Steel Aluminum Paper & Yard Glass Plastic Tires Batteries Cans Packaging Paperboard waste container container

42. Recycling: facts and figures • In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented about 64 million tons of material from ending up in landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32 percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years. • 50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of all major appliances are now recycled. • Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States, which collected several materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005, about 500 materials recovery facilities had been established to process the collected materials.

44. Waste Exchange • One persons waste can be another persons raw material • Fluorite from Al smelter in MD • Isopropyl alcohol = cleaning solvent • Nitric Acid from Electronic Industry = high grade fertilizer • Spent acid of steel industry = control for H2S

45. Liquid Waste • Sewage • Highly toxic Industrial Waste & Used Oil • Dilute and Disperse • Concentrate and Contain • Secure Landfill • Sealed drums to be put in impermeable holds with monitoring wells to check for leakage: does not work • Deep well Disposal • Pumping in deep porous layer bounded by impermeable formations, well below water table • $1 million to drill, $15-20/ton afterwards • Restricted by geological considerations, can trigger earthquakes

48. Story of Love Canal • A ditch 20m wide, 3m deep and 1km long • 1890: Built near Niagara falls for hydro-power • 1905: Hooker Electrochemical established • 1942: Hooker buys the site for waste disposal, 20,000 tons of toxic chemical dumped in 10 yr • 1953: site bought by Niagara School board for $1, Hooker absolved of any future damage • 1977: study shows toxic effects in adjoining homes,>40 toxic chemicals identified • 1978: Health advisory, 100 families to be shifted • 1980: remedial measures taken, EPA study shows chromosome defects in residents, President Carter declares emergency, provides federal aid • 1981: Over 500 families moved out, hundreds waiting for aid • EPA estimate: 30,000 hazardous waste sites in US, only 10% of hazardous wastes properly disposed, 300 million tons generated each year

49. Radioactive Waste Disposal • Isotopes with short half-lives are gone quickly, those with long half-lives will decay too little • Low level wastes: 90% of all radioactive wastes • 20 temporary and 6 commercial disposal sites • States to take care of their low level waste • High level wastes e.g., spent nuclear fuel rods • Should be so disposed as to cause less than 1000 death in 10,000 years

50. High Level Waste Depository • Rocketing to sun • Under Antarctica Ice sheet • Subduction Zone • Sea bed disposal • Bedrock caverns • Granites, basalt, tuff, shale, salt caverns • Salt: High melting point, impermeable in dry condition, self-sealing, cheap resource • No permanent high level waste repository yet