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SOLID WASTE. TYPES OF SOLID WASTE. Municipal – generated by homes, institutions, small businesses Industrial – factories, mining and drilling, agriculture. MANAGING WASTE. Minimize amount of waste generated (source reduction) Recovering waste materials and recycling
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TYPES OF SOLID WASTE • Municipal – generated by homes, institutions, small businesses • Industrial – factories, mining and drilling, agriculture
MANAGING WASTE • Minimize amount of waste generated (source reduction) • Recovering waste materials and recycling • Disposing of waste safely and effectively
TYPES OF MUNICIPAL WASTE • MAKE A LIST! • HOW DO YOU DISPOSE OF IT? • WHERE DOES YOUR TRASH GO?
HAZARDOUS WASTES • Ignitable – easily catch fire • Corrosive – corrode metals (like acids) • Reactive – chemically unstable; often explode or produce noxious fumes • Toxic – harm human health
HAZARDOUS WASTES OF MOST CONCERN TOXICITY PERSISTS • Organic compounds – resist decomposition; easily taken in by organisms; act as teratogens, mutagens, or endocrine disruptors • Heavy metals – some are fat soluble and bioaccumulate; settle in bodies of water
HAZARDOUS WASTES OF MOST CONCERN (cont.) • E-waste – disposed of electronic devices; sometimes shipped to developing countries for disassembly and disposal • Radioactive waste – waste from power plants, nuclear medicine, and nuclear devices; Yucca Mountain, Nevada; New Mexico – weapons waste
HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL METHODS • Landfill – has several imperious liners and leachate removal systems • Surface impoundment – like a pond, but lined with plastic and an impervious material; water evaporates over time, leaving hazardous residue • Deep-well injection – a well drilled deeply beneath the water table and injected with liquid waste
LAWS and TREATIES • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) • Basel Convention - bans dumping from industrialized nations into developing countries • Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) • The polluter pays • “Superfund” • Love Canal • Upjohn