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Sustainable Solutions for Managing Industrial and Municipal Wastes in the US

Explore waste management practices in the US, from industrial and agricultural waste to hazardous waste disposal. Learn about landfill operations, recycling benefits, and the challenges of hazardous waste regulation. Discover how the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act has shaped waste management policies. Delve into the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling to combat waste pollution.

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Sustainable Solutions for Managing Industrial and Municipal Wastes in the US

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  1. Waste Management • Industrial and agricultural waste • Municipal solid waste • Hazardous wastes

  2. Solid Waste in U.S.>100 lbs/person/day • Agriculture - 51% • Mining wastes - 38% • Industries - 8% (fly ash) • Municipal - 3% (70% paper, food, yard wastes)

  3. U.S. Municipal Wastes • Multi-billion dollar industry • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - 1976 - outlawed open dumping

  4. Managing Today’s Wastes • Sanitary landfill - 80% • Recycling - 10% • Incineration - 9% (dioxin) • Composting - 1%

  5. Sanitary Landfill Synthetic liner 2) Earth cover 3) Leachate collection system 4) Methane venting

  6. Changing Landfills • Filling up rapidly • Difficult finding new sites - restrictions - NIMBY - NOT IN MY BACK YARD!

  7. Recycling • Easily isolated from other wastes • Large quantities • Valuable

  8. Recycling Aluminum, Wastepaper, and Plastics • 40% of aluminum recycled in US • Recycled aluminum uses over 90% fewer resources • Paper: pre-consumer vs. post-consumer recycling • 10% or less of plastic recycled in US • Plastics can be very difficult to recycle

  9. Burning Wastes • Mass burn incineration • Air pollution • Waste to energy

  10. Hazardous Wastes • U.S. - >1 ton/person/year

  11. Today’s Management 1) reduce, reuse, recycle (5%)

  12. Today’s Management 2) detoxification, incineration (5%) • Physical reactions • Chemical reactions • Land-farming • Burning

  13. Today’s Management 3) Land disposal (90%) • Landfills, pits, lagoons, injection wells, “midnight dumping”, sewage systems, surface waters

  14. Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • EPA identifies hazardous wastes, sets standards for management • Superfund - established to clean up hazardous waste sites • Love Canal - Hooker Chemical plant in suburban Niagara Falls, NY

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