Chapter 21: Solid and Hazardous Waste Aaron Gewecke, Will Gibson, Naba Zamir, Nick Beyer

21-1: Wasting Resources  The US produces 33% of the world’s solid waste  Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material that is not a liquid or a gas  98.5% comes as a result of mining, oil and natural gas production, agriculture, sewage sludge, and industrial activities  Remaining 1.5% is municipal solid waste (MSW) from homes or urban areas

21-2 Producing Less Waste and Air Pollution  2 ways to deal with waste - Economic Approach: Burying, burning, shipping it off to be stored - Waste and Pollution Prevention Method: not using the resources in the first place and views waste as resources that should be recycled/reused

21-1 Wasting Resources  Hazardous Wastes: Possible classifications  Contain toxic, carcinogens, mutagens or teratogens. Ex: pesticides  Catches fire easily. Ex: gasoline, paints  Too reactive; could explode or release fumes. Ex: ammonia  Can corrode metals. Ex: drain cleaners  95% of our hazardous waste is not regulated because of this definition

21-2 Producing Less Waste and Air Pollution  Ways to reduce waste:  consume less  redesign manufacturing processes to use less energy, waste, and pollution  Develop products easy to reuse  Design products to last longer  Eliminate and reduce packaging  Economic incentives like trash taxes

21-3 Solutions: Cleaner Production and Selling Services Instead of Things  Eco industrial Revolution  Achieve industrial, economic, and environmental sustainability  Bring about cleaner production/industrial ecology  Industrial manufacturing process would be:  Closed systems  Cyclical flow  Waste become raw material  Biomimicry - Mimic nature and interact in resource exchange webs

21-3 Continued  Economic benefits of biomimicry:  Reduce cost of controlling pollution  Improve health and safety of workers  Reduce legal liability  Stimulate companies to produce environmentally friendly chemicals (subsidies, tax breaks, etc.)  Example: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M)

21-3 Cont.  Service Flow Economy  Lease/rent services the goods provide instead of purchasing  Yields profit:  Minimum material use  Lasts long  Easy to maintain  Recyclable

21-4 Reuse  Benefits:  Extends resource supplies, reduces energy waste, creates jobs, saves money (for companies)  Problems:  Disposable plates, napkins, and tissues have taken the place of reusable items in today’s society  Examples of reusable items:  Lunch boxes, cloth shopping bags, recyclable pallets

21-5 Recycling  Two types of recycling:  Primary, or closed-loop recycling  Secondary, or downcycling  Recycling on Solid Waste  Source separation approach  Little air/water pollution  Low startup costs/moderate operating costs  Save energy  More jobs  Cleaner and valuable recycleables  Educate public

21-6 Recycling Paper and Plastics  Recycling instead of making new paper  Saves money, energy, reduces air/water pollution  Plastics are much harder to recycle  Occur in many different types  Often are made of composites of plastics  Contain chemicals that must be removed before recycling

21-7: Detoxifying, Burning, Burying, and Exporting Chemical Wastes  Detoxifying Waste: involves injecting waste with cyclodextrin to remove toxins  Plasma detoxification is another option  Includes decomposing organic material into ions and atoms

21-7: Detoxifying, Burning, Burying, and Exporting Chemical Wastes  Burning Waste  High cost  Air pollution  Beginning to be outlawed

21-7: Detoxifying, Burning, Burying, and Exporting Chemical Wastes  Sanitary Landfill  Spread out in thin layers  Compacted  Covered with layer of clay  To deal with leachate (leakage)  Any leakage pumped into the bottom of the landfill  Stored in tanks  Sent into regular sewage  Other Greener Ideas  Apply green water to landfills

Exporting Waste  Canada recycles 89% of the U.S.’s exported waste  Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste  Requires consent from the recipient nation before waste is shipped there

Disposal of Liquid Waste  Disposal of Waste  Deep underground wells  surface impoundments  Above ground storage facilities  Built and reinforced to insure no damage is caused by storms  Fans/filters to prevent release of toxic gases

21-8: Lead, Mercury, Chlorine, and Dioxins  Threat from lead:  Nervous system impairment  Lowered IQ (4-7 points)  Shortened attention span  Hyperactivity  Hearing damage  Behavioral disorders  Threat from mercury:  Neurotoxin – harm brain and spinal cord  Exposed to mercury in two ways:  Inhaling  Eating contaminated fish  Human-based sources of mercury:  Coal burning  Waste incineration electric arc furnaces

21-8: Lead, Mercury, Chlorine, and Dioxins  Chlorine:  Used in:  Plastics (PVC)  solvents  Paper and pulp bleaching  Produces many toxins  Dioxins  Family of 75 different chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds formed as by-products in chemical reactions involving chlorine and hydrocarbons  Sources:  Wood-burning fireplaces  Coal-fired power plants  Metal smeling/refining facilities  Wood pulp paper mills  Sludge

21-9 Hazardous Waste Regulation in the US  Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)-  EPA must identify hazardous wastes  Provides firms that store, treat and dispose of hazardous wastes  Superfund Act (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act)  Cleaning abandoned hazardous sites and affected groundwater  Made possible through taxes on raw chemicals

21-9  Polluter pays principle  EPA must find responsible parties (that polluted an area) and charge them for the cleanup  Brownfields  Abandoned industrial and commercial sites that are in most cases contaminated  450, ,000 sites in the US, attempts are being made to restore or change these sites so they don’t affect groundwater

21-10 Achieving A Low Waste Society  Living free of pollution is considered a human right  POPs treaty  Treaty to control 12 persistent organic pollutants (POPS), also called the dirty dozen  Precautionary principle  Prevention of pollution and waste instead of cleaning it up