1. Municipal & Industrial Waste

2. Waste
Any unwanted material or substance that results from a human activity or process.
Each year the United States generates more than 10 billion metric tons of solid waste
22,046,226,218,000 pounds

3. Problems with Waste We are running out of space to put the waste
Barges
Burn it
Population increases, waste increases, space decreases
Average person in the United States produces 4.5 pounds of solid waste a day!

5. Types of Solid Waste Municipal solid waste Industrial solid waste
Hazardous solid waste
Wastewater

6. Municipal Solid Waste
Non-liquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses.
3% of total solid waste
210 million tons per year in the United States
Fill a convoy of garbage trucks that would stretch around Earth 6 times

7. Municipal Solid Waste

8. Wastewater
The water that is used in our households, businesses, industries, or public facilities and drain or flush down our pipes, as well as polluted runoff from our streets and storm drains.

9. Industrial Solid Waste
Waste that comes from the production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture, and petroleum extraction and refining.
Scrap metal
Plastics
Paper
Sludge
Construction waste
Farm waste
Factory waste

10. Sanitary Landfills
Location where waste is buried in the ground or piled in large, carefully engineered mounds.
Located away from wetlands / earthquake zones
Must be 20 feet above the water table
Bottom and sides lined with heavy duty plastic and four feet of impermeable clay to prevent groundwater contamination
Must have a system of pipes to collect and treat leachate.
Leachate systems have to be monitored for 30 years after the landfill closes.

11. Solid Waste Disposal: Sanitary Landfills
Waste is buried in the ground or carefully piled into mounds.
Designed to prevent groundwater contamination and minimize soil and air pollution.

12. Leachate
The liquid that results when substances from the trash dissolve in water as rainwater percolates downward.

13. Organic waste decomposes where there is no oxygen and produces methane
Highly flammable gas
Pumped out of landfills and used for fuel
May seep into the ground
If ignited, it can cause explosions
Organic waste decomposes where there is no oxygen and produces methane

14. Benefits & Costs of Landfills
Decomposition yields methane, which can be used like natural gas.
Leachate may eventually escape and contaminate the groundwater.
When full, landfills are capped. The land can be used for recreation.
Trash decomposes very slowly.
Few communities are willing to host landfills (NIMBY).
A power company in Hull, Massachusetts installed a large wind turbine on a site that had previously been a landfill.

15. Active Landfills in Ohio, 2014
8,000
Active Landfills in 2013
1,700
Active Landfills in Ohio, 2014 38
Difficulties
Finding acceptable places to build landfills
Far enough away from residents, close enough to the city producing the waste
Increase cost with new safeguards

17. Incinerators
A controlled process in which mixed garbage is burned at very high temperatures.
Pollution control removes most pollutants from emissions.
Burnable vs. Nonburnable waste is NOT separated
Reduces weight of waste by 90%
Reduces volume of waste by 75%
Ashes are taken to landfill and occupy less space

20. Benefits & Cost of Incineration
Costs
Incinerating waste reduces its weight by up to 75% and volume by up to 90%.
Toxic ash must be disposed of.
Heat from burning trash can be used to generate electricity (waste-to-energy).
Dioxins, heavy metals, and PCBs can be created and released by burning waste.
Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator
The only U.S. facility permitted to burn certain hazardous wastes

21. Minimizing Solid Waste

22. Waste Reduction Methods
Substitute disposable goods with reusable ones.
Donate unwanted items.
Minimize packaging.
Reduce use of nonbiodegradable plastic.
Design goods to last.
Use financial incentives such as “pay as you throw” garbage disposal and “bottle bills.”
BUY LESS!!!

23. Biodegradable Materials
Can be broken down by biological processes
Natural materials
Plant/ animal waste
Newspaper
Cotton fibers
Non-biodegradable Materials
Cannot be broken down by natural processes
Plastic
Nylon
Polyester

24. Problems with Plastics
Made from petroleum and natural gas
Made of hydrogen/carbon (hydrocarbons)
Hydrocarbon chains not found in nature, so they can last for hundreds of years without breaking down

25. Waste Recovery: Composting
Conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus by decomposition
Currently 3800 municipal programs in the U.S.
Has many benefits, including soil enrichment

26. Composting
Yard waste accounts for 12.9% and food scraps make up 12.4% of the municipal solid waste in the United States
Does not have to go to the landfill because they are biodegradable
Process of Composting
1) Put yard and food scraps in a closed container
2) Let it sit and mix occasionally
3) Spread on gardens or fields to enrich soil

27. Benefits of Composting
Keeps organic waste out of landfills
Provides nutrients to the soil
Reduces the need for chemical-based fertilizers
Increases beneficial soil organisms, like worms, centipedes

28. Waste Recovery: Recycling
Collection and reprocessing of waste materials
Recycling rates among U.S. communities vary from 5 to 50%.
Many programs run at a financial loss, but that doesn’t take into account the effects of not recycling.
Material Recovery Facilities
Recyclables are collected and cleaned for reuse.

29. Recycling
Making products from recycled materials usually saves energy, water and other resources
95% less energy is needed to produce aluminum from recycled aluminum from ore
75% less energy is needed to make steel from scrap than ore
70% less energy is needed to make paper from recycled paper

34. Hazardous Waste

35. What is Hazardous Waste?
Ignitable: Can catch fire
Corrosive: Can damage or destroy metals
Reactive: Chemically unstable; can explode or produce fumes when combined with water
Toxic: Harmful or fatal when inhaled, ingested, or touched

36. Sources of Hazardous Waste
Industries produce the most hazardous waste, but it is usually highly regulated.
Household hazardous waste is unregulated.
Paint
Batteries
Oil
Solvents
Cleaning
Pesticides

37. Types of Hazardous Waste
Organic compounds: Can act as mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, and endocrine disruptors
Heavy metals: Many cause neurological damage over time.
Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Copper
E-waste: Contains heavy metals and toxic chemicals, but mostly treated as conventional solid waste

38. Hazardous Waste Disposal
Landfills: Specifically designed to keep hazardous waste contained
Most common
Surface impoundment: Liquid waste poured into shallow lined pits; water evaporates and solid waste is transported elsewhere
Deep-well injection (see diagram on right): Wastes injected into deep, confined porous rock layers

39. Radioactive Waste Waste that gives off harmful radiation
Low-level: Less harmful; produced by hospitals, labs, uranium mines
High-level: More harmful; produced by nuclear power plants
Difficult to dispose of safely due to long half-lives

40. Hazardous Waste Regulation
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): Sets standards for hazardous waste management by states; requires industry to track hazardous material “cradle to grave”
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or “Superfund” Act:
Federal program for cleaning up sites polluted by hazardous waste; culprits held liable for damage caused by their pollution