Solid Waste Management
1
Final Exam
Monday, May 18th 11am
2
The U.S. has a culture of production and rapid consumption, leading to the accumulation of
massive amounts of waste. Today we will discuss: Solid waste, focusing on municipal solid waste (MSW) Reminder- Science Magazine article on Garbology uploaded to blackboard
What is Solid Waste?
According to EPA regulations, solid waste means
any garbage, or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.
4
Categories of Solid Waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Solid waste from population centers
domestic & commercial garbage street and yard refuse, etc.
5
In the U.S. a huge percentage (approx. 28%) of MSW is paper A similar percentage (28%) is easily compostable organics
US EPA 2009 data
Categories of Solid Waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Other categories of waste for next class.. Industrial/Agricultural Solid Waste (invisible)
Most abundant forms of waste in U.S. Agricultural waste Mine operation tailings Construction/demolition debris
Hazardous Waste Toxic chemical waste Radioactive waste Biological waste 7
Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:
Dumping of waste, especially in rivers or ocean, relying on it being carried away and diluted in vast area
Outdated concept, but in part still in use this approach is not sustainable
8
Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:
Dumping of waste, especially in rivers or ocean, relying on it being carried away and diluted in vast area
Outdated concept, but in part still in use this approach is not sustainable
9
Major cities in US almost all located on rivers
- NYC, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
why: - water supply - transportation - energy production - WASTE DISPOSAL
Ocean dumping still occurs in some countries but is no longer legal in the U.S.
But, NYC dumped some solid waste offshore in the ocean as recently as the 1990s
1938-1987 sewage sludge dump site 12 miles
offshore 1987-1992 sewage dump site 106 miles offshore
NY Times Nov 18, 1987- New York Quits Using An Ocean Dump Site
Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse
Concentrate and contain: Compact and store in waste disposal sites Still very much in use, but increasingly difficult
11
we bury most of our wastethink about the growing piles
We dont want these dumps in our backyardsNIMBY (Not In My BackYard).
They smell, they take up lots of valuable space, they
may leak dangerous material
In NYC most of our waste is shipped out of state on trucks or by rail
This involves ethical and economic issues
Open pit style dumps resulted in many problems for communities
14 Gramacho dump in Brazil
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) leachate- water that has percolated through a dump or landfill comes into
contact with waste products (toxins, organics, nutrients) become dissolved and are transported with
the water.
Since the 1970s- increasing concern re: leachate & increased regulation of dumps & landfills.
Sanitary landfills are now used 1)Dumping 2) compaction 3) covering
All on impermeable surface with draining system, why?
The # of landfills in the US has decreased in the recent decades
Source: US EPA 2009
Fresh Kills landfill, SI
18
Opened in 1948 3X size of Central Park mounds up to 250 ft high Closed in 2001, but still acts as a transfer station receiving 900 tons of trash/day (1 ton = 2000 lbs; 1.8 million lbs); MSW compacted and shipped by rail out of state.
Source: www.nyc.gov
Currently being transformed into restored wetlands and public parks.
Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:
Concentrate and contain:
Zero waste management: Eliminate waste entirely by reducing production
and conversion of waste into useful products A common goal, rarely attained
19
Despite a goal of Zero waste production..solid waste production in the U.S. has not declined.
U.S. MSW is approx 4lbs/person/day
US EPA 2009 data
Why has total MSW generation increased faster than per capita MSW??
US EPA 2009 data
The good news: % of municipal material recycled has also increased steadily (to about 35%)
decreasing some of the impact (NYC pattern is not as promising)
Methods of MSW disposal vary substantially by country
23 In the US we still rely heavily on landfills
In the U.S. incineration accounts for about 15% of waste disposal, but is expected to increase in the future
This can be done to produce energy or just as a mass burn off
Why not burn more??
Waste to Energy, Covanta in Hempstead
Can accept 2500 tons of MSW/day (1 million+ people) Waste is incinerated to produce electricity via
steam turbines- sold to Long Island Power Authority (LIPA)
26
Processing of many waste products can be coupled to production of resources that society needs
What are some examples?
Long Island Compost
28
Leaves, grass clippings, landscaping material gathered and recycled into organic yard care products (e.g. mulch) and soil mixtures for urban planting. Nations largest yard waste transfer station in Westbury NY Currently constructing an Anaerobic Digester in Brookhaven, to convert food wastes into electricity and methane (compressed natural gas).
Newtown Creek Anaerobic Digesters Used to process wastewater sludge (CO2, CH4 produced) In 2014, began accepting food waste for digestion
from NYC for first time In 2015 NYC will require restaurants required to
separate food waste, where will it all go..??
29
3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The 3 Rs are essential in moving towards Zero Waste production..
Goal of industrial ecology- eliminate waste as a concept and view as potential resource..
Recycling is about more than aluminum cans
However, it is a useful examplea typical
american is estimated to use approx 340 cans per year (11 lbs, 5kg).
That would be more than 2000 lbs of cans from
students in this class during 2014
This material can be readily recycled.
Reduction can be accomplished by consumer choice but also intelligent product design..
In recent decades, most plastic drink bottles are made from approx 25% less plastic..
MIT Senseable city lab
33 http://senseable.mit.edu/papers/pdf/2012_Offenhuberetal_PuttingMatterinPlace.pdf
For electronic waste (2% MSW), transportation has been estimated to account for 80% of recycling cost
Cost of waste production Direct cost to process, transport, and store:
e.g. collecting waste and storing in landfill Most commonly considered component of waste cost
Cost of pollution/degradation of land/water, and public health consequences
Cost of reduced resource availability e.g. deforestation, clean water scarcity
34
*We should also consider full range of cost in considering recycling programs*
Cost of waste production Many of the costs (e.g. disposal, resource elimination)
are not internalized, meaning they are not incorporated into the commercial cost paid by consumers.
The other costs, are referred to as externalities, or costs that are decoupled from the consumer.essentailly paid by others or society as a whole
Environmental policy often finds ways to internalize these other costs
35
Life cycle analysis.. Considers full cost/impact of product, including disposal.
36
Linear model: Raw materials production use disposal Circular model: raw materials
production
use recycling
There are clear advantages to a more sustainable circular model.
Take home messages.. Approach to waste production has changed over the last
100 yearsaway from unregulated dumping and towards zero waste production
However, total waste MSW production has continued to climbin large part due to increasing population.
There are opportunities in reclaiming waste resources
this will be vital to sustainable resource management.
37
Online sources to view:
http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/where-does-new-york-citys-trash-go
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/11/287310897/
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/02/3455697/
http://senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/trashtrack_release.mov
38