1. Waste Management Chapter 12 in textbook (Keller, 2000)
For this section, and all sections in this course, look up and study all concepts and terms in various resources:
other textbooks
library books
journal articles
websites (in addition to the links in this presentation)
NOTE: Always be prepared to discuss any of the concepts in class. Focus on highlighted terms.
Diagrams in this presentation are from various sources:
Keller (2000) textbook
Idaho Virtual Campus -- Environmental Geology course
others by S. Hughes
S. Hughes 2000

2. What is the need for waste management?
On Staten Island, New York, a mountain of trash is growing, entirely manmade.
Each day: 11,000 tons of municipal and corporate waste disposed of at Fresh Kills Landfill
Facility: 3,000 acres (>1200 ha), and by the year 2005 the mountain of trash is expected to reach 150 to 200m
PAPER
New landfills are constructed each year; some are many kilometers away from where the trash was generated.
What is the greatest contributor (by volume) to solid waste at a landfill? Answer:
S. Hughes 2000

3. Waste Management Concepts and Problems
Many people live in areas where concentration of toxic pollutants exceeds standards (e.g. 25% of people in Russia)
In 1991, 90% of countries had uncontrolled dumping of industrial hazardous waste, >60% had hazardous chemicals disposed of in uncontrolled sites
Urban areas produce more waste than there is space for disposal (1/2 of U.S. cities running out of landfill space) and the costs for treatment and disposal are increasing dramatically
Siting of new landfills depends on:
è favorable environment for disposing waste
è cost of land, transportation and disposal
è social justice -- economic and social status of citizens
è environmental justice -- healthy disposal
Resources are depleted, health problems are growing, and widespread environmental damage is occurring
Waste disposal sites may become the mines of the future.
S. Hughes 2000

4. Philosophy of Waste Disposal and Management
The search for safer methods of waste management and disposal has begun. This search is exemplified by the paradigm shift occurring in the field of Waste Management
Philosophy #1 -- Out of sight out of mind: widespread environmental damage, the philosophy persists, and continues to pose serious problems
Philosophy #2 -- Dilute and Disperse (“the solution to pollution is dilution”): First century of Industrial Revolution, no longer suitable for waste disposal; many environments have reached their maximum compensation points
Philosophy #3 -- Concentrate and Contain: the most popular today, very energy intensive and expensive
Philosophy #4 -- Resource Recovery: waste converted to useful material, requires technology, and volumes too large
Philosophy #5 -- Integrated Waste Management: Complex set of alternatives: source reduction, recycling, composting, landfill, and incineration
S. Hughes 2000

5. è waste products = resources out of place
Integrated Waste Management (IWM)
Trend to develop new methods of waste management that will not cause health problems or become a nuisance
è waste products = resources out of place
Reduce, Recycle, Reuse -- the three “Rs” of IWM; difficult to have a balance of all three, also add Eliminate to the list
Technological Advances -- increase the efficiency of manufacturing processes, minimize waste generation
Resource Recovery -- reuse and recycling is on the rise
Sequential Land Use -- establish new developments over old
Alternative Methods of Waste Treatment
NOTE: ONE THIRD of all waste in the United States is packaging!
S. Hughes 2000

6. Materials Management -- Part of IWM, but provides a new goal: Zero Production of Waste
Eliminate subsidies for extracting virgin materials (timber, minerals, oil, etc.)
Establish “green building” incentives that use recycled materials in new construction
Establish financial penalties for production of products that do not meet objectives of material management
Establish financial incentives for industrial practices that benefit the environment by enhancing sustainability
Provide incentives for producing new jobs in technology of materials management and practice of reducing, recycling and reusing resources
S. Hughes 2000

7. Solid-Waste Disposal -- primarily an urban problem, common methods include:
On-site Disposal: most common in households (grinding of kitchen food waste), disposal in sewage treatment plant
Composting: a biochemical process, organic materials decompose to humus-like material
Incineration: the reduction of combustible waste to inert residue; burns at high temperatures (900 to 1000 °C)
è convert large volume of waste to small volume of ash
è combustion used to supplement other fuels for power
Open Dumps: oldest and most common way to dispose of solid waste, without regard to safety, health, or aesthetics
Sanitary Landfills: defined by the American Society of Civil Engineering as a method of solid-waste disposal that functions without creating a nuisance or hazard to public health or safety -- This is an important geological problem.
S. Hughes 2000

8. Solid Waste Disposal
Types of materials or refuse commonly transported to a disposal site.
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.1
S. Hughes 2000

9. Solid Waste Disposal
Generalized composition of urban solid waste (by weight) for 1986 and projected for 2000
Material (%) (%)
Paper
Yard Waste
Plastics
Metals
Food Waste
Glass
Wood
Other
(source: Keller, 2000, Table 12.1)
S. Hughes 2000

10. Sanitary Landfills Engineering principles used to:
confine waste to smallest practical area
reduce waste to smallest practical volume
cover waste with layer of compacted soil (or tarps) each day (finishing cover is ~50 cm or more of compacted clay-rich soil)
Two types of sanitary landfills:
area landfill on relatively flat site
depression landfill in natural or artificial gullies or pits
NOTE: Compaction and subsidence will continue after site is closed; any further development must be able to accommodate these potential problems.
Potential Hazards:
leachate -- obnoxious, highly concentrated mineralized liquid capable of transporting bacterial pollutants
uncontrolled production and escape of methane gas
S. Hughes 2000

11. Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Best sites have natural conditions to ensure reasonable safety in disposal of solid waste: little (or acceptable) pollution of groundwater and surface water.
è Must consider: climate, hydrology, geology, & human conditions (or combinations of all)
Factors controlling the feasibility of sanitary landfills:
Topographic relief
Location of the Groundwater table
Amount of precipitation
Type of soil and rock
Location of the disposal zone in the surface-water and groundwater flow system
NOTE: The best sites are in arid regions, above water table.
S. Hughes 2000

12. Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Arid Regions
Relatively safe, regardless of whether burial material is permeable or impermeable, little or no leachate.
Humid Regions
Some leachate always produced, need to establish acceptable level of leachate production
Need to consider local water use, local regulations, and ability of natural hydrologic system to disperse, dilute and degrade the leachate to make harmless
Most desirable to bury waste above water table in clay and silt soils having low permeability
Use substrate as a natural filtering system, even if water table is high (typical in humid climate)
NOTE: It is very important to consider the geology of the landfill site, type of aquifer, types of soils, etc.
S. Hughes 2000

13. Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection
Geologic mapping is critical -- must be at least 10 meters between the base of the landfill and the top of the water table at its shallowest point - this includes anomalous shallow aquifers such as “perched aquifers”. An event of high infiltration may cause the main aquifer to become hydraulically connected with the perched aquifer.
Important factors to consider:
Natural filtration of the subsurface - contaminants may be removed from leachate before they reach the water table. Filtration can also occur by ion exchange or sorption.
Dispersion possibilities - migration will occur as a result of both physical and chemical gradients. It is also important to determine subsurface fractures.
Precipitation possibilities - heavy metals may precipitate out of leachate, or will they remain suspended
S. Hughes 2000

14. è Dispersion of contaminant confined to fracture zones.
Example #1: Waste disposal site where the refuse is buried above the water table over a fractured rock aquifer.
è Low potential for serious pollution because leachate is partially degraded by natural filtering as it infiltrates through the unsaturated zone down to the water table.
è Dispersion of contaminant confined to fracture zones.
Problems if:
Higher water table
Thinner cover material
Cover material has moderate to high hydraulic conductivity
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.2
S. Hughes 2000

15. è Leachate can migrate down to fractured bedrock (limestone)
Example #2: Solid-waste disposal site where waste is buried above the water table in permeable material with high hydraulic conductivity.
è Leachate can migrate down to fractured bedrock (limestone)
è High potential for groundwater pollution -- many open and connected fractures in the rock.
Leachate
Moves quickly through sand & gravel
Enters limestone, transported through open cavities and fractures
Has little degradation
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.3
S. Hughes 2000

16. Sanitary Landfills -- Site Selection Guidelines
Poor or Unacceptable Landfill Sites:
Limestone or highly fractured rock quarries, and sand and gravel pits (because they are good aquifer materials)
Swampy areas, unless properly drained
Floodplains, absolutely not acceptable
Areas near coast; trash or leachate will pollute beaches and coastal marine waters
Any area with high hydraulic conductivity and high WT
Acceptable Landfill Sites:
In rough topography, areas near heads of gullies, where surface water is at a minimum
Clay pits, if kept dry
Flat areas, if a layer with low hydraulic conductivity (aquitard, clay and silt) is present above any aquifer
S. Hughes 2000

17. Design of Sanitary Landfills -- complex, with multiple barriers: clay liner, leachate collection system, and a compacted clay cap
Idealized diagram of a landfill with a double liner of clay and plastic, and a leachate collection system:
Map View Cross Section
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.4
S. Hughes 2000

18. Monitoring Sanitary Landfills
Must begin monitoring the movement of groundwater before operating the site, then continued monitoring of movement of leachate and gases
Hazardous pollutants can enter the environment many ways:
1. Gases CH4, NH3, H2S, N2 go to the atmosphere
2. Heavy metals Pb, Cr, & Fe are retained in the soil
3. Soluble chlorides, nitrates, & sulfates go to groundwater
4-7. More pathways
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.6
S. Hughes 2000

19. Hazardous Waste Management
è ~1,000 new chemicals created and marketed each year
è ~50,000 chemicals are currently on the market
Many are beneficial to humans, tens of thousands are classified as definitely or potentially hazardous to human health
è The U.S. generates more than 150 metric tons of hazardous waste each year
Uncontrolled dumping in the past, and illegal dumping in the present has polluted soil and groundwater:
Barrels of chemical waste eventually corrode
Liquid chemicals often dumped into unlined ponds
Liquid waste dumped illegally in deserted fields or along dirt roads
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.7
S. Hughes 2000

20. Hazardous Waste Management
Examples of products in use and the potentially hazardous waste generated.
Products Used Potential Hazardous Waste
Plastics Organic chlorine compounds
Pesticides Organic chlorine compounds, organic phosphates
Medicines Organic solvents and residues, heavy metals (e.g. Hg and Zn)
Paints Heavy metals, pigments, solvents, organic residues
Oil, gasoline, etc. Oil, phenols, organic compounds, heavy metals, ammonia salts, acids, caustics
Metals Heavy metals, fluorides, cyanides, alkaline and acid cleaners, solvents, pigments, abrasives, plating salts, oils, phenols
Leather Heavy metals, organic solvents
Textiles Heavy metals, dyes, organic chlorine compounds, solvents
Source: Keller, 2000, Table 12.2
S. Hughes 2000

21. Hazardous Waste Management -- How did it begin
Hazardous Waste Management -- How did it begin? What events made humans aware of problems?
Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring
Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring" discussed the bioaccumulation of DDT (a pesticide). DDT was discovered in the reproductive tissues of numerous species of birds. This chemical causes thinning of eggshells such that when the female attempts to brood her eggs she ends up crushing them. Ms. Carson's work described for the first time how all things are connected, and clearly demonstrated that the Out of Site, Out of Mind philosophy was no longer valid.
The Love Canal incident
Love Canal is located near Niagara Falls, New York. During the 1940s and 1950s indiscriminate dumping of hazardous wastes by companies such as Hooker Chemical Co. occurred. Eventually the site was filled in and sold to the Niagara Falls School District. Although instructed on the nature of the site, and told not to engage in excavation or underground construction, the school district built an elementary school in the area, and a neighborhood of houses grew around it - complete with basements. In the 1970s strange odors could be detected indoors and people began experiencing symptoms of chemically induced illnesses. Investigation by reporter Michael Brown (he won the Pulitzer Prize for this) uncovered the truth and the U.S. government purchased the entire Love Canal site.
S. Hughes 2000

22. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or SUPERFUND
The Love Canal incident was the catalyst for the passing of the two most important pieces of waste legislation. The first is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or SUPERFUND. Although the danger was never as great as the public perceived it to be, Love Canal was the impetus for the passage of CERCLA in This legislation was designed to provide funds and technical ability for the clean up of hazardous waste sites contaminated by past generation, transport, and disposal activities. CERCLA aims at finding the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) and making them pay for clean up, however funds exist in case no PRPs can be found. Site selection is done by a simple site assessment, after which a priority number is assigned. If the number is high enough the site is placed on the National Priority List (NPL) and becomes a Superfund site. Once CERCLA got underway, it quickly became apparent that a tremendous amount of Superfund sites existed. There were 100 sites on the NPL by 1988.
CERCLA also makes emergency provisions for responding to current releases of hazardous substances. In 1994, SUPERFUND was extended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). An important part of SARA is Title III - known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA). Superfund was extended again in 1994 by the Superfund Reform Act.
S. Hughes 2000

23. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Limitations of CERCLA
CERCLA has a number of limitations. Most of its funds have been soaked up by legal battles attempting to assign liability and responsibility. Also, CERCLA's testing methods may not be stringent enough. Unfortunately this law deals with such huge problems that it is not possible to be rigorous. A number of the CERCLA treatment technologies are in themselves environmentally disruptive. Methods such as excavation and removal of contaminated soil, structures etc. are widely used in order to minimize time and money expenditures. Of course, they then have to face the problem of what to do with the CERCLA material!
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
The second of the two major pieces of waste legislation also stemmed from the Love Canal incident. The RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT (RCRA) passed in 1976 in response to the problem of determining liability and responsibility at Love Canal. The Act was intended to provide a regulatory framework for waste management that would prevent this type of uncertainty in the future. It consists of comprehensive legislation dealing with all aspects of current, ongoing waste production and disposal - particularly of hazardous material. It also assigns "CRADLE-TO-GRAVE" responsibility to generators of hazardous wastes.
S. Hughes 2000

24. EPA - National Priorities List = Superfund Sites
Environmental impacts at Superfund sites (NPL) and some of the pollutants encountered at the sites:
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.8
Question to think about: What does Cradle-to-Grave mean in terms of Hazardous Waste Management?
S. Hughes 2000

25. Hazardous Chemical Waste
Options for Management
Recycling
On-site processing to recover byproducts with commercial value
Microbial breakdown
Chemical Stabilization
High-temperature decomposition
Incineration
Disposal by secure landfill
Disposal by deep-well injection
Review Table 12.3 (handout) to compare hazardous waste reduction technology in terms of treatment and disposal
è What waste treatment technologies are important today?
S. Hughes 2000

26. Secure Landfill -- Confine the waste to a particular location, control the leachate that drains away, collect and treat the leachate, control leaks
The figure shows a secure landfill for hazardous chemical waste; Note impervious liners & drainage system; monitoring in vadose zone is important -- involves collection of soil water.
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.9
S. Hughes 2000

27. On-Site Disposal -- The most common disposal method
On-Site Disposal -- The most common disposal method. Drains, sewers, windows, pits and so on are all used to get rid of unwanted substances. Both hazardous and non-hazardous wastes find their way into the environment by this route.
Composting -- The decomposition of organic matter by biological organisms. On a household scale composting can significantly reduce the amount of garbage. Composting can also be done on a municipal scale. For example, in 1983 the VAM recycling and waste treatment facility in Wijster, Netherlands produced 125,000 tons of quality compost from discarded municipal organic waste!
Land Application -- Desirable treatment for some biodegradable industrial wastes (microbial degradation), usefulness is determined by biopersistence of the waste
Surface Impoundment -- Use excavations and natural topographic depressions, natural soils, prone to leakage, NOT good for hazardous chemicals
S. Hughes 2000

28. USEFUL DEFINITIONS
LEACHATE - Leachate is a combination of infiltrated precipitation and any liquids squeezed from the waste as it naturally compacts. Leachate will percolate to the base of land disposal sites due to the influence of gravity. Leachate can carry particulate matter, pollutants, biological contaminants and other constituents with it. Leachate will travel through the subsurface following the same flow direction as groundwater. Leachate is a potentially major source of pollution. As such all land based disposal facilities must incorporate a leachate collection and disposal system into their designs. Also liners and covers must be added so as to minimize infiltration into the waste site thereby minimizing leachate production or escape.
LINER - Generally there are several layers of liners at the base of a land disposal site. Layers consist of compacted clay alternating with plastic. Leachate collection systems are placed just below the first and second (in case the first one is breached) liner layers. The purpose of the liner is to prevent leachate from escaping into the subsurface.
CAP/COVER - Caps and covers are constructed (starting at the waste and working outward) of compacted, low permeability clay. This is followed by a flexible plastic liner (theoretically impermeable). Next comes a drainage layer designed to transport surface water away from the waste disposal site. Finally, this is followed by a layer of earth and then some type of vegetative cover.

29. Deep-well Disposal -- In rock (not soil), isolated from freshwater aquifers; waste is injected into a permeable rock layer hundreds to thousands of meters below the surface.
Deep-well injection of oil-field brine has been important to control water pollution in oil fields for many years.
Deep-well injection system -- disposal in sandstone or fractured limestone capped by impermeable rock and isolated from fresh water. Monitoring wells are a safety precaution.
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.10
S. Hughes 2000

30. Deep-well Injection
The underground injection of liquid wastes has been occurring in the United States for many decades. In general, this technique is used to dispose of wastes deep below the earth's surface in well-confined geologic formations.
Deep well injection directly introduces liquids into a deep aquifer in the subsurface environment via pressurized wells.
S. Hughes 2000

31. Deep-well Injection -- Disposal wells use high pressures to overcome existing lithologic and hydrostatic forces in deep aquifers, thereby forcing the aquifer to accept waste loads.
U.S. Federal regulations recognize 5 types of disposal wells, each with their own particular guidelines:
CLASS I WELLS - used for disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous industrial or municipal wastes.
CLASS II WELLS - used for injection of oil field brines and other hydrocarbon wastes.
CLASS III WELLS - used for solution mining processes.
CLASS IV WELLS - those which historically disposed of radioactive wastes (this is no longer done).
CLASS V WELLS - used for any activity not mentioned above, such as geothermal steam mining operations.
NOTE: A major problem with deep well injection is that it can cause earthquakes!
S. Hughes 2000

32. Deep-well Injection -- Multiple factors must be considered when selecting a disposal well site:
Aquifer response to injection rates, pressures, type of waste
The location of confining structures above and below
Site bounded vertically and laterally by confining strata
The location of faults, fracture zones, patterns of seismicity
The location of any old conduits between aquifer layers
Physical and chemical character of the waste
Pretreatment of the waste may be required in order to avoid system clogging, corrosion of well casings or other problems
Aquifers with low pressure head, high transmissivity, and high permeability are preferred
S. Hughes 2000

33. Monitoring Disposal Wells -- Essential part of any disposal system; important to know where wastes are going, how stable, how fast they migrate, especially if waste is toxic.
How liquid waste might enter a freshwater aquifer:
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.11
S. Hughes 2000

34. Incineration -- ”Thermal treatment”, is the high temperature reduction of wastes via combustion. Incineration can attain a % reduction in waste mass, and can destroy hazardous pollutants with efficiencies as high as 99.99%. A wide variety of thermal treatments exist.
Plasma Furnace -- Used to treat hazardous wastes. Operate at incredibly high temperatures (8,000-10,000 degrees Celsius) using gaseous Argon, and everything is atomized. Gaseous Argon is injected into the incinerator and then spun by a radio frequency coil until it reaches operating temperatures. A spray of hazardous waste is then injected via a nebulizer tube, and the combustion reaction is allowed to occur.
Drawbacks are that they can only handle small amounts of waste at any one time, and they are time consuming (in terms of operation and maintenance) and expensive. Plasma furnaces are extremely effective however if they are used correctly.
S. Hughes 2000

35. Incineration of Hazardous Waste -- considered to be a waste treatment rather than a waste disposal method.
High-temperature incinerator system to burn toxic waste:
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.12
S. Hughes 2000

36. Environmental Problems with Disposal
What are some of the paths that pollutants may take? Examples of how land disposal and treatment methods of managing hazardous waste may contaminate the environment:
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.13
S. Hughes 2000

37. Radioactive Waste Management
For waste disposal, radioactive waste is grouped into two general categories: Low-level and High-level radioactive waste; also mine tailings, which are highly radioactive, must be considered hazardous.
U235 enrichment
Uranium mines and mills
-concentrate ore
-dispose of tailings
Fabricate fuel
assemblies
Recovered uranium
Reprocessing Plant
Plutonium
Reactor
Low-level
wastes
Spent fuel
High-level
solid waste
Federal repositories - geologic disposal
Commercial burial
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Source: Keller, 2000, Figure 12.14
S. Hughes 2000

38. "This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is but a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself."
Chief Seattle, 1852
S. Hughes 2000

39. Terms for Understanding
anaerobic digester CAA cap/cover CERCLA composting cradle-to-grave CWA deep well injection generator hazardous waste heavy metals incineration Industrial Ecology Integrated Waste Management landfill leachate liner Love Canal
point source pollution non-point source pollution NPL ocean dumping on-site disposal RCRA recycle sanitary landfill SARA secure landfill soluble Superfund urban runoff volatile waste waste disposal waste management zero tolerance
S. Hughes 2000