1 Solid and Hazardous Waste Solid and Hazardous Waste

2 Wasting Resources United States 4.6% of the world's population 33% of the world's solid waste 75% of its hazardous waste

Waste Overview Solid Waste any unwanted material that is solid The U.S. produces 11,000,000,000 tons (22,000,000,000,000 lbs) per year Some of this solid waste can be recycled (agricultural waste), but much has to dealt with Waste Stream: the steady flow of wastes that humans produce from all sources

4 Solid Waste Source Reduction ReuseRecyclingCompostingIncinerationLandfills Hazardous Waste Superfund Sites

Where does U.S. waste come from?

Sources of U.S. waste Mining waste makes up 75% of all waste, but much of that is used soil or spoil Industrial solid waste: scrap metal, plastics, paper, fly ash (power plants) and sludge most is burned or buried on-site Municipal solid waste (MSW) from homes and businesses 700kg per person per year 60% dumped, 24% recycled, 16% burned

7 Solid Waste Problems Disease (Rodent and pest reduction) Fire potential Decrease in the aesthetic quality of the environment www2.tltc.ttu.edu/jackson/solid%20waste.ppt

8 Municipal Solid Waste MSW—more commonly known as trash or garbage—consists of everyday items Product packaging Grass clippings Furniture Clothing Bottles Food scraps Newspapers Appliances Paint Batteries

*Includes rubber and textiles Source: EPA Office of Solid Waste, Municipal Solid Waste Fact Sheet

10 MSW In 1999, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 230 million tons of MSW Approximately 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day (1680 pounds/year) Up from 2.7 pounds per person per day in

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12 MSW Several MSW management practices prevent or divert materials from the wastestream Source reduction Reuse Recycling Composting

13 Agriculture Waste Livestock produce sewage 200,000 hens, 1200 head of cattle in a feedlot, & 10,500 hogs may produce as much waste as 20,000 people In the U.S., there are 337 million hen, 96.1 million head of cattle & 58.7 million hogs which produce twice as much sewage as all the humans in the U.S.

14 1. Source Reduction Source reduction (waste prevention) means consuming and throwing away less Purchasing durable, long-lasting goods Seeking products and packaging that are as free of toxins as possible

15 Source Reduction May be as complex as redesigning a product use less raw material in production have a longer life be used again after its original use is completed Source reduction actually prevents the generation of waste in the first place, it is the most preferable method of waste management and goes a long way toward protecting the environment

16 Source Reduction Since 1977, the weight of 2-liter plastic soft drink bottles has been reduced from 68 grams each to 51 grams That means that 250 million pounds of plastic per year has been kept out of the waste stream

17 2. Reuse Reusing items by repairing them, donating them to charity and community groups, or selling them Use a product more than once, either for the same purpose or for a different purpose Reusing, when possible, is preferable to recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again

Other Options: Reduce Waste Reduce consumption reduce manufacturing to produce less waste reduce packaging (50% of domestic waste) trash taxes also, modify waste photodegradable and biodegradable plastics

Other options: reuse waste Glass bottles for beverage charge high prices and give return rebate use fabric bags for groceries reuse car parts, motor oil etc.

20 Ways to Reuse  Using durable coffee mugs  Using cloth napkins or towels  Refilling bottles  Donating old magazines or surplus equipment  Reusing boxes  Turning empty jars into containers for leftover food  Purchasing refillable pens and pencils  Participating in a paint collection and reuse program

21 3. Recycling Recycling, including composting, diverted 64 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 1999, up from 34 million tons in 1990 Typical materials that are recycled include batteries, recycled at a rate of 96.9%, paper and paperboard at 41.9%, and yard trimmings at 45.3% These materials and others may be recycled through curbside programs, drop-off centers, buy-back programs, and deposit systems

Other options: Recycle waste Recycling is defined as the process of turning discarded materials into new materials into same product (aluminum cans) into a different product (fleeces) Successes: 2/3 of all aluminum cans are recycled (2 months) paper recycling is taking off (40%) recycling Sunday papers would save 500,000 trees per week In Japan, 50% of all household waste is recycled (20% in U.S.)

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24Benefits Recycling Prevents the emission of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants Saves energy, supplies valuable raw materials to industry Creates jobs Stimulates the development of greener technologies Conserves resources for our children’s future Reduces the need for new landfills and combustors Reduce greenhouse gas emissions that affect global climate In 1996, prevented the release of 33 million tons of carbon into the air—roughly the amount emitted annually by 25 million cars.

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Comparison of Countries’ Waste Treatment

27 4. Composting Composting is the controlled biological decomposition of organic matter, such as food and yard wastes, into humus, a soil-like material Composting is nature's way of recycling organic wastes into new soil used in vegetable and flower gardens, landscaping, and many other applications

Composting House-by-house recycling of organic material under aerobic conditions green waste and plant food waste are broken down by soil organisms and turned into humus

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31 Benefits Composting Keeps organic wastes out of landfills Provides nutrients to the soil Increases beneficial soil organisms (e.g., worms and centipedes) Suppresses certain plant diseases Reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides Protects soils from erosion Assists pollution remediation

5. Incineration and Resource Recovery Also called “energy recovery” or “waste-to- energy” trash is burned, and the heat is used to generate electricity 1000 plants word-wide (110 in U.S.)

Incinerators Two types: refuse-derived trash is sorted before burning less air pollution higher quality fuel mass burn all trash burned more air pollution 10-20% of original mass is ash which must be disposed of as toxic waste recycling is so effective in places that cities are having trouble with contractual agreements

Incinerator Example

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36 6. Landfills Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), landfills that accept MSW are primarily regulated by state, tribal, and local governments EPA, however, has established national standards these landfills must meet in order to stay open The number of landfills in the United States is steadily decreasing—from 8,000 in 1988 to 2,300 in 1999 The capacity, however, has remained relatively constant New landfills are much larger than in the past

Landfills Built to decrease problems with insect and rodent populations litter is compacted and covered every day newer ones have lining (only 15%) up to 50% of all cities have used up landfill space Landfills in Ohio cities export trash (New Jersey)

Traditional Landfills

39 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was enacted by Congress in 1976 and amended in The act's primary goal is to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal. In addition, RCRA calls for conservation of energy and natural resources, reduction in waste generated, and environmentally sound waste management practices.

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Landfill Design The bottom liner may be layers of clay or other synthetic material (clay, plastic, or composite), which is placed on compacted soil. The bottom of the landfill is sloped and pipes along the bottom collect leachate. This leachate collections system must be very carefully planned and built by engineers. It is usually a system of pipes. (These pipes are among a gravel and sand layer.) The leachate is then pumped away and treated at a plant. Trash is dumped onto the landfill and consistently layered with soil to promote safer and better decomposition. A cover is placed over the landfill to keep water out (to prevent eventual leachate formation). Landfills also must have a system to dispose of methane gas. The structure of this system must be carefully engineered.

42 Federal Landfill Standards Location restrictions ensure that landfills are built in suitable geological areas away from faults, wetlands, flood plains, or other restricted areas Liners are geomembrane or plastic sheets reinforced with two feet of clay on the bottom and sides of landfills BioreactorsBioreactors start at 1:33

Landfill Design

Advanced Landfills

45 Federal Landfill Standards Operating practices such as compacting and covering waste frequently with several inches of soil help reduce odor; control litter, insects, and rodents; and protect public health Groundwater monitoring requires testing groundwater wells to determine whether waste materials have escaped from the landfill

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Exporting Wastes Wastes get exported from developed (wealthy) countries to developing (poor) countries there is little control by receiving countries about what is in trash in 1994 there was a ban on transporting toxic wastes also happens within countries - trash goes to poor neighborhoods (and Am. Indians)

48 Federal Landfill Standards Closure and postclosure care include covering landfills and providing long-term care of closed landfills Corrective action controls and cleans up landfill releases and achieves groundwater protection standards Financial assurance provides funding for environmental protection during and after landfill closure (i.e., closure and postclosure care)

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Overview Hazardous waste - any discarded material, liquid or solid, that contains materials known to be fatal in low doses toxic, carcinogenic, mutagens or teratogens ignitable at less than 60C corrosive explosive 265 million tons a year largest source is in the chemical and petroleum industries 60 million enters the waste stream

51 Household Hazardous Waste Common household items such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides contain hazardous components Labels – danger, warning, caution, toxic, corrosive, flammable, or poison identify products that might contain hazardous materials Leftover portions of these products are called household hazardous waste (HHW) These products, if mishandled, can be dangerous to your health and the environment

52 HW Facts and Figures Americans generate 1.6 million tons of HHW per year The average home can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of HHW in the basement and garage and in storage closets During the 1980s, many communities started special collection days or permanent collection sites for handling HHW In 1997, there were more than 3,000 HHW permanent programs and collection events throughout the United States

Producers of Hazardous Waste

54 Proper Handling The best way to handle HHW is to reduce the amount initially generated by giving leftover products to someone else to use To deal with household hazardous waste, many communities have set up collection programs to prevent HHW from being disposed of in MSW landfills and combustors – Glendale These programs ensure the safe disposal of HHW in facilities designed to treat or dispose of hazardous waste More than 3,000 HHW collection programs exist in the United States

55 Benefits Proper HHW Management Reduction and recycling of HHW conserves resources and energy that would be expended in the production of more products Reuse of hazardous household products can save money and reduce the need for generating hazardous substances Proper disposal prevents pollution that could endanger human health and the environment

What can be done about hazardous waste? physical treatment distill, charcoal, fuse in glass incineration burn at very hot temps chemical processing neutralization, oxidation biological waste treatment bacteria store permanently permanent retrievable secure landfills deep well disposal Love Canal

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58 About Superfund Years ago, people were less aware of how dumping chemical wastes might affect public health and the environment On thousands of properties where such practices were intensive or continuous, the result was uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, such as abandoned warehouses and landfills

59 About Superfund Citizen concern over the extent of this problem led Congress to establish the Superfund Program in 1980 to locate, investigate, and clean up the worst sites nationwide The EPA administers the Superfund program in cooperation with individual states and tribal governments The office that oversees management of the program is the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR)

Superfund Sites sites on the National Priority List Usually sites that are leaking into ground water (56% have contaminated surface waters) Problems EPA has only cleaned up 200 sites money mismanagement

61 Superfund Legislation Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabilities Act (CERCLA); 1980 “Superfund” to clean up abandoned sites Hazard Ranking System (HRS) National Priority List (NPL) Reauthorized in 1986 (SARA)

62 Intended as a solution to those previously contaminated sites with no- one to pay (no PRPs) Two levels Emergency response immediate threat to human health or environment Long term remediation if Hazard Ranking System (HRS) shows a score over 27.5, it is added to the National Priorities List (NPL) for Superfund cleanup 1300 sites on NPL in 1990, more to come

Steel Mill 17 th Worst Site Ranked by EPA: ARMCO Inc. Hamilton Plant in Butler OH 120 acres Steel mill that is producing both coke and molten iron Numerous owners since 1900 Armco has owned since 1937 Stopped production of coke in 1982 Closed completely in 1994 On Premises Coke Production Facility and Blast Furnaces Storage of Scrubber Sludge Waste Piles 4.5 ac. Landfill 63

Contaminants Detected 64 Ground WaterSurface WaterAirSoil Other 2-METHYLNAPHTHALENE X ANTHRACENE X ANTIMONYX AROCLOR 1248 X AROCLOR 1254 X ARSENIC (ORGANIC OR INORGANIC COMPOUNDS) X BARIUM COMPOUNDS X BENZ(A)ANTHRACENE X BENZO(A)PYRENE X BENZO(B)FLUORANTHENE X BENZO(GHI)PERYLENE X BENZO(K)FLUORANTHENE X BERYLLIUM COMPOUNDS X CADMIUM X CHROMIUM X CHRYSENE X CYANIDE COMPOUNDS X DIBENZOFURAN X FLUORANTHENE X FLUORENE X LEAD X MANGANESE COMPOUNDS X NAPHTHALENE X NICKEL COMPOUNDS X P-CRESOL X PHENANTHRENE X PYRENE X SILVER COMPOUNDS X ZINC X

AK Steel AK Steel 65

Types of Superfund Sites Landfills and dumps industries bury metal drums on own property Waste lagoons and injection wells pumped into uncontained sites Stringfellow bet & 1972, 120,000,000L of toxic chemicals were dumped into ponds - now threatening LA water Warehousing and illegal dumping stored in warehouses and abandoned often flammable and poisonous

Where are Superfund Sites?

Superfund In Ohio DIAMOND SHAMROCK CORP. (PAINESVILLE WORKS) CHEMICAL & MINERALS RECLAMATION

Hazardous Waste Legislation RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 “cradle to grave” record keeping CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensate and Liability Act - Superfund Act containment, clean up and remediation of abandoned toxic sites EPA can sue for costs anyone involved can be charged whole cost amended in 1995 to be less strict