Chapter 21: Solid, Toxic and Hazardous Waste

1. Chapter 21: Solid, Toxic and Hazardous Waste

2. Solid Waste • 11 billion tons each year • Waste stream- the steady flow of varied wastes produced • In our dumping system processes mix & crush everything together  separation is expensive • Toxic materials are dispersed throughout tons of miscellaneous garbage

3. Waste Disposal MethodsOpen Dumps • Predominant form in developing countries • Garbage is left in giant piles exposed to wind, rain, rats, flies, and other vermin • Illegal dumping in developed countries • Example- 200 million litres of waste motor oil is poured into sewers soak into ground water • Oil can pollute large quantities of water with a small amount

4. Open Dump “Smokey mountain” in Manila, Philippines where 20,000 people live and work

5. Ocean Dumping • Packaging-bottles, cans, plastic containers • Fishing gear- nets • Sewage sludge • 80 million m3 of dredge soil is dumped • Contaminates with heavy metals and toxic compounds

6. Land Fills • Sanitary landfills- solid waste disposal is regulated and controlled • Compacted every day and covered with a layer of dirt, which helps control pollution • 1994- land fills in US have to control hazardous materials • An impermeable layer underlies and encloses the storage areas • Drainage systems are around liner to catch drainage and monitor leaking chemicals • Location • Un-faulted rock formations • Away from rivers, lakes, floodplains and aquifer recharge zones • Becoming expensive disposal method because of rising land costs • Methane recovery- • Natural product of decomposing garbage deep in a landfill • Can be collected and burned • Could provide enough electricity for a city of 1 million people

7. Sanitary Land Fill A waterproof lining is now required to prevent leaching of chemicals into underground aquifers

8. Exporting Wastes • Poorer populates are more likely to be recipient of dumps, waste incinerators, and unwanted land uses • Often toxic wastes • “recycle” as asphalt- what happens when the road wears away? • “Land farmed” • Sold as fertilizers or soil amendments • Not subject to regulation because not intended for human ingestion

9. Incineration • Energy recovery/ waste-to-energy- burning • Heat derived from incinerated refuse is a useful resource • Can produce steam used directly for heating building or generating electricity • Reduces land fill need • Types of municipal incinerators-specially designed burning plants are capable of burning thousands of tons of waste per day • Refuse derived fuel- can be sorted to remove unburnable or recyclable meterials • Mass burn- dump everything, burn as much as possible • Avoids expensive and unpleasant job of sorting • Causes greater problems with air pollution and corrosion of burner grates and chimneys • 10%-20% of original mass

10. Contains toxic components  environmental hazard if not disposed properly • Incinerator cost and safety • Initial construction- $100 -$300 million • Pay in long run lifetime of landfills will be extended • Environmental Safety • High levels of dioxin, furans, lead and cadmium in incinerator ash • Concentrated in fly ash( lighter, air borne particles capable of penetrating deep inside the lung • Problem: Enough Garbage?

11. Percentage of municipal solid waste recycled, composted, incinerations and landfilled in some developing countries

12. Shrinking the Waste StreamRecycling • The reprocessing of discarded materials in to new useful products • into same product( ie. New cans) or entirely new products (ie. Newspapers  cellulose insulating) • Contamination- can cost more to remove contaminants that the material is worth • economic benefits-saves money, energy, raw materials and land • Money- many recycling programs cover their own costs with material sales • Lowers demand for raw materials • Reduces need for energy to create new materials • Ex. Producing aluminum cans from scrap saves 95% of energy • Reduces litter

13. Commercial scale recycling • Composting- a method in which natural aerobic decomposition reduces organic debris to a nutrient rich soil amendment • Save land fill space • Can make a profit • Ferment organic waste  produce Methane sell energy and fertilizer • Can recycle building debris  • Mulch, crushed stone, gypsum, recyclable metal and paper • Thermal conversion process- pressure cooks manure, plastics, paper processing waste, tires, sewage • Extreme heat and pressure reduce molecules to simple hydrocarbons-oil, gasoline, natural gas

14. Demanufacturing • The disassembly and recycling of obsolete products such as TVs and computers • E-waste- computers, cell phones, TVs, printers • Reduces environmental costs • Cradle to grave- manufactures are responsible for taking care of what they produce

15. Reusing • Saves cost of remanufacturing • Ex. Selling from junkyards • Producers reusing glass containers (average 15 round trips before too scratched to use) • National companies not in favor of b/c would take too much energy • In some developing countries people make a living off of scavenging from city dumps

16. Reducing • Packaging- 50% domestic waste (volume) • Reduce • No packaging • Minimal packaging • Reusable packaging • Recyclable packaging • When necessary can use • Photodegradable plastics- breakdown when exposed to UV radiation • Bio degradable plastics- incorporate such materials as cornstarch that can be decomposed by micro organisms • Often don’t decompose completely • Largely eliminates recycling as an option • Most important- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

17. Hazardous and Toxic Wastesrecycled, contained or detozified • Hazardous waste- any discarded material, liquid or solid, that contains substances known to be • Fatal to humans or laboratory animals in small doses • Toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic to humans or other life forms • Ignitable with a flash point of less than 60°C • Corrosive • Explosive or highly reactive • Some materials can be exempt • In small quantities • In an approved waste treatement facility for the purpose of being beneficially used, recycled, reclaimed, detoxified or destroyed • Most is recycled, converted into non hazardous forms, stored or otherwise disposed of • Problem: orphan wastes-left behind by abandoned industries

18. Federal Legislation • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976 • Requires rigorous testing and management of toxic and hazardous substances • Requires generators, shippers, users and disposers of materials to keep meticulous account • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) • 1980, modified 1984 under the Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA) • Aimed at rapid contianment, cleanup or remediation of abandoned toxic sites • Authorized EPA to undertake emergency actions when threat exists, can bring auit against responsible parties • SARA- community has the right to know, and established state emergency response plans that gives citizens access to the toxins in their community • Toxic Release Inventory- requires 20,000 facilities or report on releases of 300 toxic materials

19. Superfund Sites • 36,000 seriously contaminated in US • 1997- 1,400 sites on National Priority List (NPL) • Superfund- • Provides immediate response to situations that pose imminent threats • Clean up • 1993-2000- 757 of 1500 NPL sites cleaned • Greatest concerns-most often detected • Contamination sites- • Old industrial facilities-smelters, mills, petroleum refineries, chemical manufacturing plants • Mining districts • Railroad yards, bus repair barns • Lead • Trichloroethylene • Toluene • Benzene • PCBs • Chloroform • Phenol • Arsenic • Cadmium • Chromium

20. Hazardous Waste Sites Hazardous waste sites found usually around the Great Lakes, the “Rust belt” or the gulf coast Here- on EPA priority cleanup list, sites on aquifer recharge zones are an especially serious threat because ground water contamination can be difficult and costly, and some times impossible.

21. Brownfields • Large areas of contaminate land • Abandoned because of real or suspected pollution • Liability risks deter developers • Some people think the standards for clean up are too high- • Ex. Water contamination must be to drinking water standards • Former congressman Jim Florio, and principal author of the original Superfund Act says “ It doesn’t make any sense to clan up a rail yard in downtown Newark so it can be used as a drinking water reservoir.” • Developing contaminate sites can help- • Rebuild cities • Increase tax base • Prevent needless destruction of open space • In some places former Brownfields are being turn into “eco-industrial parks” that have environmentally friendly business and bring jobs to neighborhoods