1. Solid and Hazardous Waste
Chapter 21

2. Core Case Study: E-waste—An Exploding Problem (1)
Electronic waste, e-waste: fastest growing solid waste problem
Composition includes
High-quality plastics
Valuable metals
Toxic and hazardous pollutants

3. Core Case Study: E-waste—An Exploding Problem (2)
Shipped to other countries
What happens in China?
Workers, mainly children, dismantle products and are exposed to hazardous metals and chemicals
International Basel Convention
Bans transferring hazardous wastes from developed countries to developing countries
European Union
Cradle-to-grave approach

4. Core Case Study: E-waste—An Exploding Problem (3)
What should be done?
Recycle
E-cycle
Reuse
Prevention approach: remove the toxic materials

5. Case Study: Recycling E-Waste
70% goes to China
Hazardous working conditions
Reduce toxic components in electronics
2008: Basal Action Network
Instituted e-Stewards Initiative

6. We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful Things and Hazardous Materials (1)
Solid waste
Industrial solid (mines, agriculture, industries)
Municipal solid waste (MSW) (garbage)
Hazardous, toxic, waste
Hazardous wastes
Organic compounds
Toxic heavy metals
Radioactive waste

7. We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful Things and Hazardous Materials (2)
80–90% of hazardous wastes produced by developed countries
Why reduce solid wastes?
¾ of the materials are an unnecessary waste of the earth's resources
Huge amounts of air pollution, greenhouse gases, and water pollution

8. What Harmful Chemicals Are in Your Home?
Cleaning
Gardening
Disinfectants
Pesticides
Drain, toilet, and window cleaners
Weed killers
Ant and rodent killers
Spot removers
Flea powders
Septic tank cleaners
Paint Products
Paints, stains, varnishes, and lacquers
Paint thinners, solvents, and strippers
Automotive
Figure 21.2
Harmful chemicals found in many homes. The U.S. Congress has exempted disposal of these materials from government regulation. Question: Which of these chemicals are in your home?
Wood preservatives
Gasoline
Artist paints and inks
Used motor oil
General
Antifreeze
Dry-cell batteries (mercury and cadmium)
Battery acid
Brake and transmission fluid
Glues and cements
Fig. 21-2, p. 562

9. Natural Capital Degradation: Solid Wastes Polluting a River in Indonesia

10. Solid Waste in the United States
Leader in solid waste problem
What is thrown away?
Leader in trash production, by weight, per person
Recycling is helping

11. Hundreds of Millions of Discarded Tires in a Dump in Colorado, U.S.

12. We Can Burn or Bury Solid Waste or Produce Less of It
Waste Management
Reduce the environmental impact of MSW without seriously trying to reduce the amount of waste produced
Waste Reduction
Less waste and pollution are produced as well as reuse, recycle, and composting programs
Integrated waste management
Uses a variety of strategies for both waste reduction and waste management

13. Integrated Waste Management

14. Integrated Waste Management: Priorities for Dealing with Solid Waste

15. We Can Cut Solid Wastes by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling (1)
Waste reduction is based on
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Seven strategies:
(1) Redesign manufacturing processes and products to use less material and energy
(2) Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less waste and pollution

16. We Can Cut Solid Wastes by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling (2)
Seven strategies cont…
(3) Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost, or recycle
(4) Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging
(5) Use fee-per-bag waste collection systems
(6) Establish cradle-to grave responsibility
(7) Restructure urban transportation systems

17. Case Study: Use of Refillable Containers
Reuse and recycle
Refillable glass beverage bottles
Refillable soft drink bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic
Paper, plastic, or reusable cloth bags
Pros
Cons

18. Energy Consumption Involved with Using Different Types of 350 ml Containers

19. There Are Two Types of Recycling (1)
Primary, closed-loop recycling
Recycled into new products of the same type
Secondary recycling
Waste products are turned into different products
Types of wastes that can be recycled
Preconsumer: internal waste (manufacturing)
Postconsumer: external waste (consumer use)

20. We Can Mix or Separate Household Solid Wastes for Recycling
Materials-recovery facilities (MRFs)
Mixed waste is separated into what can be reused by industry or recycled, the rest is burned to produce steam or electricity
Source separation
Pay-as-you-throw
Fee-per-bag
Which program is more cost effective?
Which is friendlier to the environment?

21. We Can Copy Nature and Recycle Biodegradable Solid Wastes
Composting
Individual
Municipal
Benefits
Successful program in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

22. Backyard Composter Drum: Bacteria Convert Kitchen Waste into Compost

23. We Can Encourage Reuse and Recycling (1)
What hinders reuse and recycling?
Misleading accounting system
Uneven playing field
Demand and price paid for recycled materials fluctuates
Encourage reuse and recycling
Government
Increase subsidies and tax breaks for using such products
Decrease subsidies and tax breaks for making items from virgin resources

24. We Can Encourage Reuse and Recycling (2)
Fee-per-bag collection
New laws
Citizen pressure

25. Solutions: A Waste-to-Energy Incinerator with Pollution Controls

26. Solutions: State-of-the-Art Sanitary Landfill

27. Case Study: Industrial Ecosystems: Copying Nature
Mimic nature: recycle and reuse most minerals and chemicals
Resource exchange webs
Ecoindustrial parks
Industrial forms of biomimicry
Benefits

28. Solutions: An Industrial Ecosystem in Denmark Mimics Natural Food Web

29. We Can Use Integrated Management of Hazardous Waste
Integrated management of hazardous wastes
Produce less
Convert to less hazardous substances
Rest in long-term safe storage
Increased use for postconsumer hazardous waste

30. We Can Detoxify Hazardous Wastes
Collect and then detoxify
Physical methods
Chemical methods
Use nanomagnets
Bioremediation
Phytoremediation
Incineration
Using a plasma arc torch

31. Solutions: Phytoremediation

32. We Can Store Some Forms of Hazardous Waste
Burial on land or long-term storage
Deep-well disposal
Surface impoundments
Secure hazardous landfills

33. Surface Impoundment in Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.

34. Solutions: Secure Hazardous Waste Landfill

35. Case Study: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States
1976: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
1980: Comprehensive Environmental, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund
Pace of cleanup has slowed
Superfund is broke
Laws encouraging the cleanup of brownfields

36. Leaking Barrels of Toxic Waste at a Superfund Site in the United States

37. Grassroots Action Has Led to Better Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
“Not in my backyard”
Produce less waste
“Not in anyone’s backyard”
“Not on planet Earth”

38. Providing Environmental Justice for Everyone Is an Important Goal
Which communities in the U.S. have the largest share of hazardous waster dumps?

39. Countries Have Developed International Treaties to Reduce Hazardous Waste (1)
1989 Basel Convention
1995: Amended
2008: Ratified by 192 countries, but not
The United States
Afghanistan
Haiti

40. Countries Have Developed International Treaties to Reduce Hazardous Waste (2)
2000: Delegates from 122 countries completed a global treaty
Control 12 persistent organic pollutants
2000: Swedish Parliament Law
By 2020 ban all chemicals that are persistent and can accumulate in living tissue

41. We Can Make the Transition to Low-Waste Societies
Norway, Austria, and the Netherlands
Committed to reduce resource waste by 75%
East Hampton, NY, U.S.
Reduced solid waste by 85%
Follow guidelines to prevent pollution and reduce waste