1. Municipal Solid Waste: Disposal and Recovery
Chapter 16
Municipal Solid Waste: Disposal and Recovery

2. Danehy Park- Cambridge, MA
Chapter Introduction
Danehy Park- Cambridge, MA

3. Danehy Park 50-acre park opened in 1990. Built on a former city dump.
Light system in the restrooms to warn of evacuation in the case of methane buildup.
Many dumps since the “solid-waste crisis” of 1970s and 80s have been converted to parks, golf courses, and nature preserves.

4. The Ideal:
When looking for sustainable solutions, the ideal would be to imitate the natural world and reuse everything.

5. The Solid-Waste Problem
Lesson 18.1

6. MSW MSW=Municipal Solid Wastes
The total of all materials from homes or commercial establishments thrown away and collected by local governments.
Commonly called trash, refuse, or garbage.

7. Types of Waste:
Hazardous: made up of the HAZMAT materials: ignitable, corrosive, reactive, or toxic.
Industrial: 7.6 billion tons generated annually. Composed of demolition and construction waste, agricultural and mining residue, combustion ash, sewage treatment sludge.

8. Factors Contributing to Increasing Amounts of MSW

9. The Story of Stuff:
21 minutes

10. Factors Contributing to Increasing Amounts of MSW
In part by: Increasing populations
More so by: Changing lifestyles, increased use of disposable materials*, excessive packaging*
* = two largest contributors to waste volume

11. Compare the procedures:
1960 the nation generated 2.7 pounds of MSW per person per day. Most was combusted in open landfills to reduce volume. Produced clouds of smoke, bad smell, and breeding ground for rats and flies.
Some cities turned to incinerators (combustion facilities). Produced large amounts of air pollution when not monitored correctly.
Open dumps turned to landfills.
2003 the nation generated 4.5 pounds per person per day.

12. MSW Patterns of Disposal
US 1998: 55% disposed in landfills, 28% recovered for recycling and composting, 17% combusted.
US 2003: 55.4% landfills, 30.6% recycling, 14% combustion.
Over the past 10 years, the overall trend is landfill and combustion declining, recycling increasing.
Pattern not the same for highly populated areas like Japan (combusts 75%) and Western Europe (0ver 50%).

13. US: MSW Components
**However the proportions can vary depending on the season, the affluence or the generator (commercial vs. home).

14. The US Fate of MSW
In countries with large populations like Japan, these numbers change toward the direction of combustion…Japan combusts 80% of its MSW.

15. Who is in Charge?
Customarily the local jurisdictions have been in charge of waste collection.
Own their own trucks.
OR contracted out.
The cost is traditionally passed along to home owners via taxes or a PAYT system.

16. Landfills: waste put on or in the ground and covered with earth.
Problems with old landfill structures.
Leachate generation
Methane production
Incomplete decomposition
Settling

17. Leachate Generation
As water percolates through the refuse and ground, it carries contaminates with it to ground water.
Florida: Superfund helped to get landfills state-of-the-art liners to prevent ground water contamination
Much of the land is flat, only a few feet above sea level and rests on water-saturated limestone…big problem.

18. Methane Production Natural Decomposition.
Buried wastes are anaerobicaly broken down by detritus feeders creating biogas.
Gases seeping to the surface kill vegetation, leading to erosion that exposes the unsightly wastes.

19. 390 commercial landfill gas facilities in the US
Biogas Exploitation
390 commercial landfill gas facilities in the US
California has the largest facility
1998: produced 108 trillion BTU’s of energy=20 million barrels of oil.
2005: produced 9 billion kWh of electricity.

20. Riverview, Michigan
The city collaborates with DTE to “mine” the landfill gas under the 212-acre landfill (Mt. Trashmore).
Provides 3700 homes with energy.
Doubles as a ski and recreation area during winter months.

21. Incomplete decomposition
Materials don’t completely break down.
Paper makes up 35% of the MSW. If paper is recycled, it won’t become MSW.
Research out of the University of Arizona has shown that even materials previously thought to be biodegradable are often degraded at a very slow rate.
30 year old papers have been recovered (readable).

22. Why do the papers not break down?
Not enough moisture.
The problem?
If you add more water to the landfills (which will make the papers degrade faster), more toxic leachate is produced.

23. Archer Daniels Midland
As oil prices rise, agricultural giant Midland, has created biodegradable plastics made of PHA (polyhydroxylalkanoate) based on corn sugars.
The growth rate of these products is expected to increase by 20% per year based upon two things.
High oil price
Demand for environmentally friendly packaging.

24. Settling Buildings not built on landfills because of settling.
Causes a problem for playgrounds, golf courses that are converted landfills because it creates shallow depressions (or even deep holes) that hold water and seeps into ground water.

25. EPA: Improving Landfills
EPA has upgraded siting and construction regulations.
Sited on high ground.
Floor contoured.
Layering of materials, leachate draining system, and liners.
Ground water monitoring.

26. Siting: Public Reactions
LULU (locally unwanted landuse)
NIMBY (not in my backyard)
NIMTOO (not in my term of office)

27. Siting Problems Drives up the cost of waste disposal.
Leads to inefficient and equally objectionable practice of long-distance transfer.
Table 18-1 p 470.
A positive of the landfill siting problem is that it encourages people to reduce their amount of MSW and recycle

28. Advantages of Combustion: waste to energy
Can reduce weight by 70% and volume by 90%.
Toxic/hazardous materials concentrated into two streams for easier handling and control.
Generate electricity.
No changes needed for collection procedures.
2/3 of combustion facilities are WTE facilities (compliant with clean air act regulations).
Resource recovery.

29. Combustion: Drawbacks
Health affects: older, poorer managed facilities.
Expensive to build.
Ash loaded with heavy metals.
Must have continuing supply of MSW.
Impedes recycling (direct competition for same materials).

30. Waste to Energy facility (Figure 18-7 page 471)
Steps to process p.471, #ed.

31. Tipping fees: $30-$100 per ton. Transportation costs.
Cost of MSW disposal
Tipping fees: $30-$100 per ton.
Transportation costs.
Increasing expense has lead to illegal dumping.

32. Solutions
Lesson 18.2

33. The Solutions
Reduction
Recycling
Reusing
Composting

34. Source Reduction
Definition: practice of designing, manufacturing, purchasing, or using materials in ways that reduce the amount or toxicity of the trash collected.
Accomplishes waste prevention
EPA measures it by the amount of consumer spending.
Accomplishes two goals:
Reduces amount of waste to be managed.
Conserves resources.

35. Source Reduction in Action
Lightening the weight of many items has reduced the amount of materials used.
Electronic communication lessens paper load.
Durable goods made reusable.
Lengthening product life.
Get off the bulk mail list
Begin composting

36. Recycling as a Solution
More than 75% MSW is recyclable.
Primary recycling: original waste material made back into same product. News papers to newsprint
Secondary recycling: waste made into a new product. Newspaper to cardboard

37. How does recycling help?
Recycle steel saves 2500 lbs of iron ore, 1000 lbs of coal and more than 5400 BTU’s of energy
One ton of paper saves 17 trees, 6953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil and 4000 kWh of energy.
Recycling paper decreases air pollution by 74%, and water pollution by 35%

38. Recyclable Materials
Metals (22%)- saves energy, creates jobs, and reduces trade deficit.
Yard wastes (56%)- humus
Textiles (14.4%)- strengthen recycled paper products.
Old tires (36%)- asphalt
Paper and paperboard (48%)- recycled paper or insulation.
Most glass (19%)- new bottles or fiber glass.
Some forms of plastics (5.2%)- carpet fiber, outdoor apparel, building materials.
Recyclable material (% recovery)-product it is made in to.

39. The Most Successful Recycling Programs
No cost to recycle but PAYT for MSW
Mandates
Make it curbside
Goals are ambitious but clear and feasible
Efforts made to involve industry
Municipality has hired a recycling coordinator

40. How popular is recycling?
Virtually every state has specific recycling goals.
EPA reports state that in 1960 only 6.7% MSW was recycled as compared to the 30.6% in 2003.
Mostly driven by economic savings and environmental concern.
All of the recycling is highly promotes by the Global Recycling Network.

41. “Experience has shown that at least two-thirds of households will recycle if presented with a curbside pickup program”

42. Critics of Recycling Generally base their argument on economics.
If the costs of recycling are compared to the cost of combustion or landfills, recycling generally comes in second best.
Market for recyclable materials fluctuate greatly.
The shortfall between cost and market value is generally between $20-$135.
Garbage collection is a big business and those involved see recycling as cutting into their market.

43. International paper trade:
The market for recycled paper has fluctuated greatly over the years.
1980’s- market saturated and municipalities had to pay to get rid of it.
1995-paper was so valuable is was bought at about $160 a ton.
Forest-poor countries like Europe and Asia purchase paper from the US and other industrialized countries in the N hemisphere.

44. Fact:
A one meter stack of newspapers is equal to the amount of pulp from one tree.

45. Glass recycling: 5.3% enter the solid waste stream.
50% non burnable portion.
Large portion of the roadside litter.
Injuries, flat tires, pollution created to mine and manufacture.
Not al the cost shows in the price of the item, some appears in taxes to clean up the litter, as well as injuries, flat tire repair, environmental degradation…

46. Bottle Laws:
Environmental and consumer groups have set some laws to promote recycling and reuse of beverage containers.
The opposition comes from beverage and container industries who say that bottle laws result in loss of jobs and higher beverage costs for the consumer.

47. Bottle Laws Continued:
11 states as of 2006 have adopted some type of bottle law.
The experience has been positive, proving the beverage companies wrong by providing more jobs and costs have not risen, higher percentage of bottles are being recycled and a marked reduction in bottle litter.
In % glass, 44% aluminum, 60% steel, 25% plastic bottles were recovered.

48. Bottle laws continued:
Only two states have bottle laws with regard to non returnables such as water and other non-carbonated drinks.
With the rising cost of petroleum and the many uses of plastic bottles, recycling them makes both economic and environmental sense.

49. Plastic Recycling Code 2: HDPE-high density polyethylene.
Code 1: PETE-polyethylene terephthalate.
Use for recycled plastics is limited somewhat because of contamination in the cross over process. Ex: some may not be reused for food containers.

50. MRF’s- “murfs” Materials recovery facilities.
2001 there were 480 operating in the US.
Wastes are sorted and shipped to proper locations for reuse.
Advantages:
Economy of sale
High quality end products

51. Mixed waste facilities:
Receives waste as if it were going to a landfill or combustion facility.
Waste put on a conveyer and is sorted for recyclables before sending it to the landfill.
43 facilities in the US in 2001.

52. Public Policy and Waste Management
Lesson 18.3

53. MSW Regulations Solid waste disposal act 1965
Resource recovery act 1970 and1976
Superfund act 1980
Hazardous and solid waste amendments 1984

54. Integrated Waste Management
Different combinations of source reduction, WTE combustion, recycling, recovery facilities, landfills, and composting depending on the options that work best for the region.
A system of several alternatives in operation at the same time.

55. Recycling is the wave of the future.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycling is the wave of the future.
Should not be the main pursuant in lieu of reduction or reuse
Reduction is the most environmental sound.
Wastes that are not generated do not need to be managed.

56. Sustainable MSW Management
Waste reduction
Safe waste disposal
Recycling and reuse

57. Leachate
Residues of decomposing organic matter combined with iron, mercury, lead zinc, and other metals from rusting cans, discarded batteries, and appliances, paints, pesticides, cleaning fluids, news inks, and other chemicals.