Chapter 19

1. Chapter 19 Waste

2. What is solid waste.. • Where does your trash go when you throw it away? • Where are our dumps located? • Do we take other peoples trash?

3. Solid Waste • Any discarded material that isn’t a liquid or a gas • Junk mail, coffee grounds, old cars, sewer solid waste…

4. Solid Waste • Who is the biggest producer of solid waste? • America, but other countries are catching up. • Our waste production has doubled since 1960.

5. Space and Waste • many towns are running out of space to dispose of the amounts of waste that people create • Population and Waste -while the Earth’s human population and the amount of waste we produce grows larger, the amount of land available per person becomes smaller

6. today, the average person in the US produces 4.4 pounds of solid waste per day • -because the human population and amount of available land is decreasing it is getting harder to dispose of the waste we create

7. B. Not All Wastes Are Equal • Problems are caused not only by the amount of solid waste, but by the type of solid waste • There are two main types of solid waste: biodegradable and nonbiodegradable • -biodegradable- if it can be broken down by biological processes

8. Biodegradable • -examples are plant and animal matter • -products made from natural materials are usually biodegradable • -newspapers, paper bags, cotton fibers, leather • Products made from synthetic materials are not biodegradable

9. Nonbiodegradable • -a nonbiodegradable material- cannot be broken down by natural processes • -synthetic materials are made by combining chemicals to form compounds (made in a lab) that do not form naturally • -polyester, nylon, and plastic are examples of synthetic materials • synthetic materials are composed of hydrogen & carbon

10. Plastic Problems • -plastics illustrate how nonbiodegradable materials can cause problems • -made from petroleum or natural gas – they consist mostly of carbon and hydrogen but plastics are put together in molecular chains that are not found in nature • -the plastics we throw away may accumulate and last for hundreds of yearsC • Compare the peanut 

11. C. Types of Solid Waste • Most of what we throw out on a day-to-day basis is called municipal solid waste • Manufacturing waste – like computers, and mining waste make up about 70% of the other types of solid waste produced in the US • Municipal Solid Waste (waste produced by a community)

12. Municipal solid waste • Municipal solid waste – waste produced by households and businesses • -makes up about 2% of the total solid waste in the US • -amounts to more than 236 million tons each year- enough to fill garbage trucks that would stretch around the Earth about 6 times!

13. sewer/household waste • the amount of municipal waste is growing much faster than the amount of mining or agricultural waste • 9% of solid waste is from Manufacturing, while Mining and Agriculture make up an additional 87% ! • -solid waste from manufacturing, mining, and agriculture makes up most of the rest of the total solid waste produced in the US

14. What Does it Look Like? • Waste from manufacturing includes things like scrap metal, plastics, paper, sludge, and ash • -consumers (you) indirectly produce this waste by purchasing products that have been manufactured • -waste from mining includes rock and minerals that are left over from excavation and processing • -this waste is left exposed in large heaps, dumped in oceans or rivers, disposed of by refilling and landscaping abandoned mines

15. agricultural waste includes crop wastes and manure • -because it is biodegradable it can be broken down and returned to the soil • -the increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides may cause agricultural waste more difficult to dispose of – if it is returned to the soil it could harm plants and animals or contaminate groundwater

16. D. Solid Waste Management • Most of our municipal waste in the US is sent to landfills and some of it is incinerated, or burned • -more than 30% is recycled in comparison to 1970 when we recycled only 6.6 Landfills • more than 50% of the municipal and manufacturing solid waste created in the US is sent to landfills

17. landfill • landfill – a permanent waste-disposal facility where wastes are put in the ground and covered each day with a layer of soil, plastic, or both • A modern landfill has many parts • the most important function of a landfill is to contain waste so that it does not pollute the environment • waste must be prevented from leaching toxins into the soil and groundwater

19. Problems with Landfills One problem with landfills is leachate • leachate- a liquid that has passed through compacted solid waste in a landfill forms when water seeps down through a landfill and collects dissolved chemicals from decomposing garbage • may contain chemicals from paints, pesticides, cleansers, cans, batteries, and appliances • landfills typically have monitoring wells and storage tanks to measure and store leachate • stored leachate can then be treated as waste water • if landfills are not monitored properly, leachate can flow into groundwater supplies and make water from nearby wells unsafe to drink - Makes chemical soup

20. Methane is another problem with landfills • decomposing organic wastes may produce methane, a highly flammable gas. • it can be pumped out of landfills and used as a fuel • if it is not monitored safely, it may seep through the ground and into basements of homes up to 300m (1000 ft) from a landfill • if methane is ignited by a spark, it can cause dangerous explosions –it burns with a blue flame

21. Methane • Methane is a plentiful source of fuel • Future???

22. Law • The Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) • Passed in 1976 and updated in 1984 • Requires new landfills to build safeguards lining the sides with clay or plastic liners and must have systems for collecting and treating Leachate • vent pipes must be installed to carry methane out of the land fill where it can be released or burned to produce energy

23. Safeguards • this increases the cost of building a landfill • -finding acceptable places to put a landfill is difficult • -must be close to the city producing the waste but far enough from residents who object from having a landfill near their homes

24. Building More Landfills • although we can build safer landfills, we are running out of space we are willing to develop for new landfills • the materials we bury in landfills are not decomposing as fast as we can fill landfills • even biodegradable materials take several years to decompose • -the total number of active landfills in 1988 was 8,000 but by 2005 the total number was less than 1,700 because many had been filled to capacity • the US EPA estimates that active landfills in 20 states will be filled to capacity within 10 years

25. Incinerators • one option for reducing the amount of solid waste is to– BURN IT in an incinerator • -waste that is burned does not disappear, they can reduce the weight of solid waste by 75%, they cannot • separate materials that should not be incinerated before burning the waste • some items that should not be burned such as cleansers, batteries, and paints end up in the air as polluting gases • the ash left over must be disposed of in a landfill

26. Incinerators • incinerated material takes up less space but the incinerated material can be more toxic than it was before being incinerated • -even incinerators that have special air pollution control devices release small amounts of poisonous gases and particles of toxic heavy metals into the air

27. Incinerators

28. II. Reducing Solid Waste • What are 3 ways to reduce waste going into landfills? • Produce less waste • Recycle • Change the materials we use

29. II. Reducing Solid Waste • We have to find ways to effectively reduce solid waste • -producing less waste, recycling, changing the materials and products we use • -source reduction – any change in design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste

30. A. Reducing Solid Waste If we produce less waste we will reduce the expense and difficulty of collecting and disposing of it • Buying less • -as a consumer you can influence manufacturers to reduce solid waste • -buy products that last longer, or reusable products, you will encourage manufacturers to produce more of those products

31. How to produce less waste • 1. Use both sides of a sheet of paper • 2. Carry a fork in your purse and don’t use plastic ones • Don’t by over packaged products- Lunchables, single serving Pringles • Use cloth diapers (they have good ones now!) • Make sturdier products that will last longer

32. buy dish towels instead of paper towels or rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones • -until 1965 nearly all bottled beverages were sold in bottles designed to be returned to stores when empty • now there is a demand for disposable bottles, but if consumers began to use more refillable bottles, beverage manufacturers would begin producing more of them

33. Lasting Longer • -manufacturers could also reduce waste and conserve resources by redesigning products to use less material • -a return to products that last longer or designed to be easily repaired would save resources and waste disposal problems

34. B. Recycling • Recycling- the process of reusing materials or recovering valuable materials from waste or scrap • -making products from recycled materials usually saves energy, water, and other resources • -95% less energy is needed to produce aluminum from recycled aluminum than from ore • -70% less energy is needed to make paper from recycled paper than from trees

35. Recycling: A Series of Steps • -discarded materials need to be collected and sorted by type • -each type of material must be taken to a facility where it can be cleaned and made ready to use again • -the materials are used to manufacture new products • -new products are sold to consumers • -if more people buy products made from recycled materials, there will be an increase in the demand for these products • Terracycle • -demand encourages manufacturers to build facilities to make recycled products

36. Composting • -yard waste makes up more than 15% of a community’s solid waste • -none of this should go to a landfill because it is biodegradable but it does • -it along with fruit and vegetable trimmings and table scraps will decompose in a compost pile • -the more oxygen and moisture there is in a compost pile the more rapidly microorganisms will break down the biodegradable waste • -compost- a dark brown, crumbly material made from decomposed plant and animal matter that is spread on gardens and fields to enrich the soil

37. Composting • Yard waste makes about 1/5 th of all municipal waste (grass clippings) • Why not have a compost bin??

38. Compost • compost is rich in nutrients that help plants grow • -some cities collect yard waste from homes and compost it at a large, central facility • -can be an effective way of handling waste from food-processing plants and restaurants, manure from animal feedlots, and municipal sewage sludge • -if all biodegradable wastes were composted, the amount of solid waste going to landfills could be reduced

39. Cornstarch peanuts • Take a cornstarch peanut and put it in water. What happens? • Is this a good solution?

40. C. Changing the Materials We Use • -simply changing the materials we use could eliminate much of the solid waste we produce • single-serve drink boxes are made of foil, cardboard, and plastic – hard to recycle because there is no easy way to separate the three components • -most of our waste could be recycled if such products were no longer mad and if all drinks came in recyclable containers

41. Recycling • recycling other common household products into new, usable products could eliminate solid waste • newspaper, egg cartons, catalogs, junk mail, aluminum cans • Degradable plastics • -several companies have made new kinds of plastics that are degradable • photodegradable plastics – made so that when it is left in the sun for many weeks, it becomes weak and brittle and breaks into pieces

42. green plastic • green plastic – made by blending the sugars in plants with a special chemical agent to make plastic • -more environmentally friendly than other plastics • -require 20-50% less energy than the production of regular plastics • Problems with degradable plastics • -the plastic parts are only reduced to smaller pieces, this can help reduce the harmful effects of plastic litter

43. Problems with Plastic • -preventing the plastic from getting caught in the throats or around the necks of animals • -plastic still doesn’t go away, the pieces just get spread around and still remain in landfills for many years

44. III. Hazardous Waste • Hazardous waste? What is it? • Wastes that are highly toxic and highly corrosive and can be explosive • They can be solid, liquid or gaseous

45. Hazardous waste • Hazardous waste – any waste that is a risk to the health of humans or other living things • A. Types of Hazardous Waste • Hazardous waste can be solids, liquids, or gases. • -contain toxic, corrosive, or explosive materials

46. Examples of Hazardous Waste • Dyes, Cleaners, Solvents (Nail polish remover) • Heavy metals: lead, mercury, zinc • PCB’s, oil, plastics • Pesticides • Radio active waste

47. the methods used to dispose of hazardous wastes are not as carefully planned as the manufacturing processes that produced them • -improperly stored or discarded wastes leak into the air, soil and groundwater causing huge health problems • -Federal laws were enacted to clean up old waste sites and regulate future waste disposal

48. Toxic Nightmare • Love Canal – Niagra Falls, NY • In 1942 a company dumped toxic waste for 11 years 22,000 tons. • The clay lining of the canal was supposed to hold in the chemicals and the dump was capped and covered with soil • The land was then sold to an elementary school & homes were built as well. • No one were told- children’s health was affected, asthma, seizures, birth defects

49. Love Canal A Modern Day Ghost Town

50. B. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires producers of hazardous waste to keep records of how their wastes are handled from the time the wastes are made to the time they are placed in an approved disposal facility • -if wastes cause a problem in the future, the producer is legally responsible for the problem • -RCRA also requires that all hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities are build and operated according to standards that are designed to prevent the facilities from polluting the environment