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Solid, Toxic and Hazardous Waste

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SOLID WASTE

• Solid waste-any unwanted or discarded materials that is not a liquid or gas United States

- 4.6% of the world's population- 33% of the world's solid waste - 75% of its hazardous waste

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Municipal Solid Waste

• In 1999, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 230 million tons of MSWApproximately 4.6 pounds of waste

per person per day (1680 pounds/year)

Up from 2.7 pounds per person per day in 1960

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm

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

www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm

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Waste Disposal Methods

• Landfills• Incineration• Shrinking the waste stream

Composting Recycling Reuse Reduce

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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

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Landfill DesignLandfill DesignThe 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.

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Landfill DesignLandfill Design

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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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Waste Disposal Methods Cont.

• Incineration-burn it Reduces volumes of waste Leads to increased air pollution Energy used to heat buildings or generate

electricity

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Shrinking the Waste Stream

• Composting Biological decomposition of organic matter, such as

food and yard wastes, into humus, a soil-like material Benefits

- Keeps organic wastes out of landfills- Provides nutrients to the soil- Increases beneficial soil organisms- Reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides- Protects soils from erosion

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Shrinking the Waste Stream• Recycling

Benefits- 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- Reduces the need for new landfills

http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm

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U.S. Recycling Rates

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Shrinking the Waste Stream• 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

Preferable to recycling because the item does not need to be reprocessed before it can be used again

Reduces energy and pollution Ways to reuse:

Using durable coffee mugs Using cloth napkins or towels Refilling bottles

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Shrinking the Waste Stream

• Reducing Waste Decrease excess packaging

- Excess packaging of food and consumer products is one of our greatest sources of unnecessary waste.

Source reduction (waste prevention) means consuming and throwing away less

Developing products that are easy to reuse, manufacture and recycle

Purchasing durable, long-lasting goods

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Hazardous Waste

• Any discarded liquid or solid that contains substances known to be: Fatal to humans or laboratory animals in low

doses. Toxic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic. Explosive or highly reactive. Ex.: paints, cleaners, oils,

batteries, and pesticides contain hazardous components

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Disposal of Hazardous Wastes

• Deep-well disposal-liquid hazardous wastes pumped through a pipe beneath aquifers

• Aboveground buildings-made of concrete• Surface impoundments-excavated depressions or

ponds into which liquid hazardous wastes are drained and stored

• Secure hazardous waste landfills-store in drums and carefully bury

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Hazardous Waste Management Options

• Produce Less Waste Avoid creating wastes in the first place. Recycle and Reuse

• Convert to Less Hazardous Substances Physical Treatment (Isolation) Incineration Chemical Processing (Transformation) Bioremediation (Microorganisms)

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Ever Hear of Love Canal?

• Love Canal (Niagara Falls, NY) Homes and a school were built on land that a

chemical company used as a toxic waste dump (1942-1953)

Toxic wastes leaked out causing: asthma, dizziness, blurred vision, seizures, miscarriages, birth defects, etc.

1978-1980: 939 families were evacuated Company paid $98 million to help cleanup

mistake

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Hazardous Waste Regulation

• Federal Legislation Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

(RCRA) - 1976.- EPA has to identify hazardous wastes and

set standards for management

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Hazardous Waste Regulation Cont.

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Better known as Superfund Identifies abandoned hazardous waste dump

sites Protects and cleans up groundwater near sites Cleanup: polluters-pay-principle

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Superfund Sites

• EPA estimates 36,000 seriously contaminated sites in the U.S..

• Total costs for hazardous waste cleanup in the U.S. are estimated between $370 billion and $1.7 trillion.

• Studies of Superfund sites reveal minorities tend to be over-represented in these neighborhoods.

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