Solid and Hazardous Waste

Disposable?

• We live in a disposable society, trash is an everyday reality for every American.– What does this term mean?

• Wall-E– Think about our habits and perception of

trash.– What are the factors in identifying a

disposable society?

Central Case: Transforming New York’s Fresh Kills Landfill

• The largest landfill in the world, it closed in 2001

• Staten Island residents viewed the landfill as an eyesore and civic blemish

• It was briefly reopened to bury rubble from the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001, attack

• New York plans to transform the landfill into a world-class public park

Core Case Study: Love Canal — There Is No “Away”

• Between 1842-1953, Hooker Chemical sealed multiple chemical wastes into steel drums and dumped them into an old canal excavation (Love Canal).

• In 1953, the canal was filled and sold to Niagara Falls school board for $1.

• The company inserted a disclaimer denying liability for the wastes.

Core Case Study: Love Canal — There Is No “Away”

• In 1957, Hooker Chemical warned the school not to disturb the site because of the toxic waste.– In 1959 an elementary school, playing fields

and homes were built disrupting the clay cap covering the wastes.

– In 1976, residents complained of chemical smells and chemical burns from the site.

Core Case Study: Love Canal — There Is No “Away”

• President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a federal disaster area.– The area was

abandoned in 1980 (left).

Figure 22-1Figure 22-1

Core Case Study: Love Canal — There Is No “Away”

• It still is a controversy as to how much the chemicals at Love Canal injured or caused disease to the residents.

• Love Canal sparked creation of the Superfund law, which forced polluters to pay for cleaning up abandoned toxic waste dumps.

WASTEWhat is your definition of waste?

Waste• Any discarded material for which no

further sale or use is intended

• examples: residue, chemical by-products, unused virgin material, spill absorbent material

WASTING RESOURCES

• Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material we produce that is not a liquid or gas.– Municipal solid waste (MSW): produce

directly from homes.– Industrial solid waste: produced indirectly by

industries that supply people with goods and services.

Solid Waste• Any garbage; refuse; sludge from a waste

treatment plant or air pollution control facility; and other discarded material (including solid, liquid, semi-solid or contained gaseous material) generated from any industrial, commercial or community activities; mining or agricultural operations

Solid Waste Exclusions• Solid or dissolved materials in domestic

sewage or irrigation return flows

• Industrial discharges subject to CWA regulations, including POTW

• Source, special nuclear or by-product material defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954

Ways to reduce waste that enters waste stream

• Waste stream = flow of waste as it moves from its sources toward disposal destinations– More efficient use of materials, consume less, buy

goods with less packaging, reusing goods

• Recovery (recycling, composting) = next best strategy in waste management– Recycling = sends used goods to manufacture

new goods– Composting = recovery of organic waste– All materials in nature are recycled

How Much Trash is Generated?

• Of the 251 million tons (228 million metric tons) of trash, or solid waste, generated in the United States in 2006, about 81.8 million tons (74.2 million metric tons), or 32.5 percent, was either recycled or composted [source: EPA].

Materials Discarded in a Municipal Landfill

• Paper and paperboard 41.0%• Yard waste 17.9%• Glass 8.2%• Metal 8.7%• Rubber, leather, textiles 8.1%• Food waste 7.9%• Plastic 6.5%• Miscellaneous inorganic 1.6%

Electronic Waste: A Growing Problem

• E-waste consists of toxic and hazardous waste such as PVC, lead, mercury, and cadmium.

• The U.S. produces almost half of the world's e-waste but only recycles about 10% of it.

Figure 22-4Figure 22-4

Waste generation is rising in the U.S.

In the U.S,, since 1960, waste generation has increased by 2.8 times

WASTE DISPOSAL

WASTING RESOURCES

• Solid wastes polluting a river in Jakarta, Indonesia. The man in the boat is looking for items to salvage or sell.

Figure 22-3Figure 22-3

Trash For Sale

• The US sells it’s trash to China for recycling. – The turn in the economy has devalued the

recycling industry

INTEGRATED WASTE MANAGEMENT

• We can manage the solid wastes we produce and reduce or prevent their production.

Figure 22-5Figure 22-5

WASTING RESOURCES

• The United States produces about a third of the world’s solid waste and buries more than half of it in landfills.– About 98.5% is industrial solid waste.– The remaining 1.5% is MSW.

• About 55% of U.S. MSW is dumped into landfills, 30% is recycled or composted, and 15% is burned in incinerators.

Burying Solid Waste• Most of the world’s MSW is buried in landfills

that eventually are expected to leak toxic liquids into the soil and underlying aquifers.– Open dumps: are fields or holes in the ground

where garbage is deposited and sometimes covered with soil. Mostly used in developing countries.

– Sanitary landfills: solid wastes are spread out in thin layers, compacted and covered daily with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam.

Sanitary landfills are regulated• Sanitary landfills = waste buried in the ground or piled in

large, engineered mounds– Must meet national standards set by the EPA under the

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976– Waste is partially decomposed by bacteria and compresses

under its own weight to make more space– Layered with soil to reduce odor, speed decomposition,

reduce infestation by pets

– When a landfill is closed, it must be capped and maintained

40 CFR Parts 239-259

• The purpose of this part is to establish minimum national criteria under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA or the Act), as amended, for all municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) units and under the Clean Water Act, as amended, for municipal solid waste landfills that are used to dispose of sewage sludge. These minimum national criteria ensure the protection of human health and the environment.

Regulatory Guidelines

• Subtitle D, of RCRA regulates non-hazardous waste– Siting– Design– Operation– Monitoring– Closure and post-closure– Financial assurance

Why do we have landfills?

• Protect groundwater

• Protect surface water

• Protect air quality

• Control pathogenic migration

Landfill Design

• The main waste contaminant features are– Underlying soils– Depth to groundwater– Landfill liner (triple liner)– Leachate collection system– Leachate prevention through infiltration and

drainage control– Cover soil and final landfill cap

The Size of the Landfill

• Limit of Refuse filing (LRF) determines the volume of waste that can be properly stored at the site– Determined by site characterization, proximity

to surface and groundwater

The Liner

• A liner acts like a giant garbage bag– Clay liner– Synthetic liner– Additional liner

Liner Construction

Drainage Control

• Surface water infiltration is drained from the landfill

Leachate

• Leachate is the liquid that migrates from within a land disposal site which has come in contact with solid waste.

Monitoring• Groundwater monitoring wells are installed

around the landfill to monitor pollution migration.

• Gas collection wells are installed to remove methane which is a natural decomposition product or organic material.

Procedures

• Waste is broken down and moved into the landfill.

• A layer of dirt is used to cover the waste.

Closure

• Solid waste is layered with soil or clay and capped off.

Closure

Landfill Construction

BURNING AND BURYING SOLID WASTE

• Globally, MSW is burned in over 1,000 large waste-to-energy incinerators, which boil water to make steam for heating water, or space, or for production of electricity.– Japan and a few European countries

incinerate most of their MSW.

Burning Solid Waste

• Waste-to-energy incinerator with pollution controls that burns mixed solid waste.

Figure 22-10Figure 22-10

Landfills can produce gas for energy

• Bacteria can decompose waste in an oxygen-deficient environment

• Landfill gas = a mix of gases that consists of roughly half methane – Can be collected, processed, and used like natural gas – When not used commercially, landfill gas is burned off

in flares to reduce odors and greenhouse emissions

THE “R’S”

Solutions: Reducing Solid Waste

• Refuse: to buy items that we really don’t need.• Reduce: consume less and live a simpler and

less stressful life by practicing simplicity.• Reuse: rely more on items that can be used

over and over.• Repurpose: use something for another purpose

instead of throwing it away.• Recycle: paper, glass, cans, plastics…and buy

items made from recycled materials.

REUSE

• Reusing products is an important way to reduce resource use, waste, and pollution in developed countries.

• Reusing can be hazardous in developing countries for poor who scavenge in open dumps.– They can be exposed to toxins or infectious

diseases.

Case Study: Using Refillable Containers

• Refilling and reusing containers uses fewer resources and less energy, produces less waste, saves money, and creates jobs.– In Denmark and Canada’s Price Edward’s Island

there is a ban on all beverage containers that cannot be reused.

– In Finland 95% of soft drink and alcoholic beverages are refillable (Germany 75%).

REUSE

• Reducing resource waste: energy consumption for different types of 350-ml (12-oz) beverage containers.

Figure 22-7Figure 22-7

Solutions: Other Ways to Reuse Things

• We can use reusable shopping bags, food containers, and shipping pallets, and borrow tools from tool libraries.– Many countries in Europe and Asia charge

shoppers for plastic bags.

RECYCLING

• Primary (closed loop) recycling: materials are turned into new products of the same type.

• Secondary recycling: materials are converted into different products.– Used tires shredded and converted into

rubberized road surface.– Newspapers transformed into cellulose

insulation.

RECYCLING

• There is a disagreement over whether to mix urban wastes and send them to centralized resource recovery plants or to sort recyclables for collection and sale to manufacturers as raw materials.– To promote separation of wastes, 4,000

communities in the U.S. have implemented pay-as-you-throw or fee-per-bag waste collection systems.

RECYCLING

• Composting biodegradable organic waste mimics nature by recycling plant nutrients to the soil.

• Recycling paper has a number of environmental (reduction in pollution and deforestation, less energy expenditure) and economic benefits and is easy to do.

RECYCLING

• Recycling many plastics is chemically and economically difficult.– Many plastics are hard to isolate from other

wastes.– Recovering individual plastic resins does not

yield much material.– The cost of virgin plastic resins in low than

recycled resins due to low fossil fuel costs.– There are new technologies that are making

plastics biodegradable.

RECYCLING

• Reuse and recycling are hindered by prices of goods that do not reflect their harmful environmental impacts, too few government subsidies and tax breaks, and price fluctuations.

Alternatives

• What can you do with waste other than landfilling it?– Compost piles– Biodegradable

Compost

• Compost is a pile of organic debris.– Roughly half of household waste is made up of food

and garden waste. Most of this material could be composted to save landfill, improve soil condition and provide fertiliser in the garden at no cost.

– Composting is the method of breaking down waste organic materials in a large container or heap. The decomposition occurs because of the naturally occurring micro-organisms, such as bacteria and fungi.

Compost PilesCan go in Compost Can't go in Compost

Vegetable and fruit scraps Meat and Dairy products

Fallen Leaves Diseased Plants

Tea Leaves and Tea Bags Metals, plastic & glass

Coffee Grounds Droppings of meat eating animals (eg dogs)

Vacuum Cleaner Dust Fats or Oils

Soft Stems Magazines

Dead Flowers Large Branches

Used Vegetable Cooking Oil Weeds that have seeds or underground stems

Egg Shells Bread or cake (attracts mice)

Lawn Clippings Bones

Old Newspapers

Sawdust (not from treated timber)

Hazardous Waste

The rules are different!

Illegal dumping of hazardous waste

• Since hazardous waste disposal is costly, it results in illegal and anonymous dumping by companies, – Creating health risks – Industrial nations illegally dump in developing nations– Basel Convention, an international treaty, should

prevent dumping but it still happens

• High costs of disposal encourages companies to invest in reducing their hazardous waste

Superfund

• Later laws charged the EPA with cleaning up brownfields = lands whose reuse or development are complicated by the presence of hazardous materials

• Two events spurred creation of Superfund legislation– In Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, families were

evacuated after buried toxic chemicals rose to the surface, contaminating homes and an elementary school

– In Times Beach, Missouri, the entire town was evacuated after being contaminated with dioxin from waste oil sprayed on roads

The Superfund process

• Once a Superfund site is identified, EPA scientists evaluate:– How close the site is to human habitation – Whether wastes are currently confined or likely to

spread– Whether the site threatens drinking water supplies

Superfund: harmful sites• Harmful sites are:

– Placed on the EPA’s National Priority List– Ranked according to the level of risk to human

health that they pose – Cleaned up on a site-by-site basis as funds are

available• The EPA is required to hold public hearings

and inform area residents of tits findings and to receive feedback

Who pays for cleanup?

• CERCLA operates under the polluter pays principle = polluting parties were to be charged for cleanup– However, the responsible parties often can’t be found– A trust fund was established by a federal tax on petroleum

and chemical industries– The fund is bankrupt, and neither the Bush administration nor

Congress has moved to restore it, so taxpayers now pay all costs of cleanup

– Fewer cleanups are being completed– An average cleanup costs $25 million and takes 12 - 15 years

Hazardous Waste Regulations in the United States

• Two major federal laws regulate the management and disposal of hazardous waste in the U.S.:– Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

(RCRA)• Cradle-to-the-grave system to keep track waste.

– Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

• Commonly known as Superfund program.

Hazardous Waste Regulations in the United States

• The Superfund law was designed to have polluters pay for cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites.– Only 70% of the cleanup costs have come

from the polluters, the rest comes from a trust fund financed until 1995 by taxes on chemical raw materials and oil.

The stepwise process of determining a hazardous waste

• Define the material as a “waste”

• Define the waste as “solid waste”

• Determine any solid waste exclusions

• Define the solid waste as “hazardous”

• Determine any hazardous waste exclusions

Hazardous Waste• Solid waste or combination of solid wastes

which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may cause an increase in mortality, incapacitating illness or pose a present or potential hazard to the health or environment when improperly treated, stored or disposed of.

A Hazardous Waste is . . .• listed by 40 CFR Part 261; or

• is characterized by analytical methodology

EPA Criteria for Hazardous Waste

• Toxicity

• Persistence in the environment

• Degradability in the environment

• Bioaccumulation potential

• Hazardous Characteristics: ignitibility, corrosivity, reactivity, Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure (TCLP)

Hazardous Characteristics

• Ignitibility: flashpoint less than 140oF (<140oF)

• Corrosivity: pH less than 2.0 S.U. or greater than 12.5 S.U. (2.0 < S.U. < 12.5)

• Reactivity: a combination of greater than 250 mg/kg of HCN and greater than 500 mg/kg of H2S

Hazardous Characteristics (cont.)

• TCLP with one or more compounds above the Maximum Concentration Limit

Hazardous Waste Exclusions• Household waste

• Agricultural waste returned as fertilizer

• Mining overburden returned to mine site

• Certain utility wastes from coal combustion

• Certain oil & natural gas exploration drilling waste

Hazardous Waste Exclusions (continued)

• Waste from mining and processing ores

• Cement chromium bearing wastes

• Cement kiln dust wastes

• Arsenic-treated wood wastes from end users

Dioxins• Regulated by TSCA

• Group of more than 70 different chlorinated dioxins

• By-product of certain manufacturing processes

• Carcinogen

• Teratogen

• Mutagen

Bioaccumulators• Chlorinated Insecticides

• Carbamates

• Organophosphates

• Herbicides

• Metals

Hydrogen Sulfide• Decomposition product of organic matter

• Sludge press by-product

• If the pH falls below 7 S.U., Hydrogen Sulfide is released

• Toxic gas

Cyanides (-CN)• Commonly found in plating operations and

sludges

• When mixed with an acid, Hydrogen Cyanide gas is released

• Can cause instantaneous death

• Acutely toxic

Eight Heavy Metals (RCRA)• Arsenic

• Barium

• Cadmium

• Chromium

• Lead

• Mercury

• Selenium

• Silver

Case Study: Lead

• Lead is especially harmful to children and is still used in leaded gasoline and household paints in about 100 countries.

Figure 22-24Figure 22-24

Case Study: Mercury

• Mercury is released into the environment mostly by burning coal and incinerating wastes and can build to high levels in some types of fish.

Figure 22-26Figure 22-26

Fig. 22-25, p. 542

BIOMAGNIFICATION IN FOOD CHAIN

SEDIMENT

PRECIPITATIONPRECIPITATION WINDSWINDS

AIR

WATER

Inorganic mercury and acids

(Hg2+)

Inorganic mercury and acids (Hg2+)

Organicmercury (CH3Hg+)

Inorganicmercury (Hg2+)

Hg2+ and acids

Runoff of Hg2+ and acids

Large fish

Small fish

ZooplanktonPhytoplankton

Hg and SO2Hg2+ and acids

Human sources

Incinerator

Coal-burning plant

Elemental mercury

vapor (Hg)

Photo-chemical

OxidationElemental

mercury liquid (Hg)

Deposition

De

po

sit

ion

Bacteria

Bacteria and acids

Settles out

Settles out Settles

outV

ap

oriza

tion

De

po

sit

ion

De

po

sitio

n

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

• Group of chlorinated hydrocarbons

• Arochlor 1016, 1254, etc.

• By-product of certain manufacturing processes

• Transformer oil - dielectric properties

Waste Minimization• Waste minimization is required by all

Large Quantity Generators and can be achieved by– using an alternative process;– reducing the amount used; or– solvent substitution

How is hazardous waste treated?

• The EPA decides the appropriate method of disposal for each listed and typed waste.– Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities

(TSDF) are permitted to handle hazardous waste.

– Transporters of hazardous waste are also permitted.

Treatment Methods

• There are several categories of treatment options.– Landfill or Storage– Incineration or Destruction– Fuel Blending– Neutralization– Biological Treatment

Conversion to Less Hazardous Substances

• Incineration: heating many types of hazardous waste to high temperatures – up to 2000 °C – in an incinerator can break them down and convert them to less harmful or harmless chemicals.

Conversion to Less Hazardous Substances

• Plasma Torch: passing electrical current through gas to generate an electric arc and very high temperatures can create plasma.– The plasma process can be carried out in a

torch which can decompose liquid or solid hazardous organic material.

Long-Term Storage of Hazardous Waste

• Hazardous waste can be disposed of on or underneath the earth’s surface, but without proper design and care this can pollute the air and water.– Deep-well disposal: liquid hazardous wastes are

pumped under pressure into dry porous rock far beneath aquifers.

– Surface impoundments: excavated depressions such as ponds, pits, or lagoons into which liners are placed and liquid hazardous wastes are stored.

Fig. 22-20, p. 539

Safe method ifsites are chosencarefully

Trade-Offs

Deep Underground Wells

Advantages Disadvantages

Encourageswaste production

Existing fracturesor earthquakescan allow wastesto escape intogroundwater

Leaks fromcorrosion of wellcasing

Leaks or spills atsurface

Low cost

Easy to do

Wastes can beretrieved ifproblemsdevelop

Fig. 22-21, p. 539

Low construction costs

Can store wastes indefinitely with secure double liners

Groundwatercontaminationfrom leaking liners(or no lining)

Trade-Offs

Surface Impoundments

Advantages

Promotes wasteproduction

Disruption andleakage fromearthquakes

Overflow fromflooding

Air pollution fromvolatile organiccompounds

Wastes can be retrieved if necessary

Can be built quickly

Low operating costs

Disadvantages

Long-Term Storage of Hazardous Waste

• Long-Term Retrievable Storage: Some highly toxic materials cannot be detoxified or destroyed. Metal drums are used to stored them in areas that can be inspected and retrieved.

• Secure Landfills: Sometimes hazardous waste are put into drums and buried in carefully designed and monitored sites.

Secure Hazardous Waste Landfill

• In the U.S. there are only 23 commercial hazardous waste landfills.

Figure 22-22Figure 22-22

Brownfields

• Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. – In other words, an abandoned property that is

potentially contaminated

How many?

It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S.

•Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

Phytoremediation

• Phytoremediation is the use of living green plants for in situ risk reduction and/or removal of contaminants from contaminated soil, water, sediments, and air.

Phytoremediation

• Phytoremediation is actually a term for several ways in which plants can be used to clean up contaminated soils and water. – Phytoextraction or inorganics or metals

– Rhizofiltration for metals

– Phytostabilization to stabilize soil

– Phytodegradation of organic compounds

– Rhizodegradation for organics

– Phytovolatilization

Advantages of phytoremediation

It is more economically viable using the same tools and supplies as agriculture

It is less disruptive to the environment and does not involve waiting for new plant communities to recolonize the site

Disposal sites are not needed

It is more likely to be accepted by the public as it is more aesthetically pleasing then traditional methods

It avoids excavation and transport of polluted media thus reducing the risk of spreading the contamination

It has the potential to treat sites polluted with more than one type of pollutant

Disadvantages of phytoremediation• It is dependant on the growing conditions required by the plant (ie

climate, geology, altitude, temperature)

• Large scale operations require access to agricultural equipment and knowledge

• Success is dependant on the tolerance of the plant to the pollutant

• Contaminants collected in senescing tissues may be released back into the environment in autumn

• Contaminants may be collected in woody tissues used as fuel

• Time taken to remediate sites far exceeds that of other technologies

• Contaminant solubility may be increased leading to greater environmental damage and the possibility of leaching

• http://arabidopsis.info/students/dom/mainpage.html

ACHIEVING A LOW-WASTE SOCIETY

• In the U.S., citizens have kept large numbers of incinerators, landfills, and hazardous waste treatment plants from being built in their local areas.

• Environmental justice means that everyone is entitled to protection from environmental hazards without discrimination.

Global Outlook: International Action to Reduce Hazardous

Waste• An international treaty calls for phasing out

the use of harmful persistent organic pollutants (POPs).– POPs are insoluble in water and soluble in fat.– Nearly every person on earth has detectable

levels of POPs in their blood.– The U.S has not ratified this treaty.

Making the Transition to a Low-Waste Society: A New Vision

• Everything is connected.

• There is no “away” for the wastes we produce.

• Dilution is not always the solution to pollution.

• The best and cheapest way to deal with wastes are reduction and pollution prevention.