Waste-what becomes of itWaste-what becomes of it

Chapter 22

Wasting ResourcesWasting ResourcesWasting ResourcesWasting Resources Industrial and agricultural waste Municipal and solid wastes US: generate 1,600 lb person-1 year-1

Fig. 21.3, p. 519

Total Solid WastesTotal Solid Wastes

Slide 2

Fig. 21.2, p. 519

Municipal1.5%

Sewage sludge1%

Mining and oiland gas

production75% Industry

9.5%

Agriculture13%

Fate of Solid WastesFate of Solid Wastes

Slide 3

Fig. 21.3, p. 519

Burned in incinerators (16%)

Dumped inlandfills

(54%)

Recycled orcomposted

(30%)

Chemical HazardsChemical Hazards Toxic chemicals: substances at LD50 (at given

concentrations) Hazardous chemicals: flammable or explosive,

irritating or damaging to tissues, asphyxiants, or allergens

Mutagens: cause random mutations in DNA; autonomic or germ cell mutations

Teratogens: cause birth defects to embryo-PCBs, thalidomide, steroids

Carcinogens: cause or promote growth of malignant tumors – CANCER CAUSING

Hazardous WastesHazardous Wastes

Contains toxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic compounds

Catches fire easily, like gasoline or paints and paint thinners

Explosive acids or bases ammonia, chlorine bleach, corrodes metal containers

NOT Hazardous WastesNOT Hazardous Wastes

Radioactive wastes Household wastes Mining wastes Oil and gas drilling wastes Liquids containing organic hydrocarbons Cement kiln dust

Producing Less Waste and PollutionProducing Less Waste and Pollution

Waste management (High waste approach) Burying burning shipping Waste PREVENTION (low waste approach) (REFUSE) Reduce, reuse, recycle Chemical or biological treatment burial

Primary Pollution and Waste PreventionPrimary Pollution and Waste Prevention

• Change industrial process to eliminate use of harmful chemicals

• Purchase different products

• Use less of a harmful product

• Reduce packaging and materials in

products

• Make products that last longer and are recyclable, reusable or easy to repair

Recover waste materials Recover waste materials

If waste is already produced, then recover anything that can be recycled.

Covanta- incineration of wastes at different temperatures

Temperatures correspond to melting point of different metals.

Metals are separated from waste, turned into bars or rolls and sold.

Secondary Pollution and Waste PreventionSecondary Pollution and Waste Prevention

• Reduce products

• Repair products

• Recycle

• Compost

• Buy reusable and recyclable

products

Waste ManagementWaste Management

• Treat waste to reduce toxicity

• Incinerate waste

• Bury waste in landfill

• Release waste into environment for dispersal or dilution

DIOXINDIOXIN

Potentially VERY bad toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons

Sources include: waste incineration, coal fired power plants, paper production, sewage sludge

Dealing With Hazardous WastesDealing With Hazardous Wastes

Produce less wastes Convert to less hazardous or nonhazardous substances Land treatment, thermal treatment, incineration, chemical,

physical, or biological treatment, ocean or atmospheric assimilation

Put in perpetual storage Landfill, underground injection, waste piles, surface

impoundments, salt formations, arid region unsaturated zone

Cleaner ProductionCleaner Production

Ecoindustrial revolution Industrial ecology Closed materials cycles Wastes become raw materials

Solutions: Selling Services Instead of ThingsSolutions: Selling Services Instead of Things

Service-flow economyUses a minimum amount of materialProducts last longerProducts are easier to maintain,

repair, and recycleCustomized services needed by

customers

ReuseReuse

Extends resource suppliesMaintains high-quality matterReduces energy useRefillable beverage containersReusable shipping containers and

grocery bags

RecyclingRecyclingRecyclingRecyclingPrimary

(closed-loop)Primary

(closed-loop)

Post consumer waste

Post consumer waste

Secondary (open loop)Secondary (open loop)

Aluminum can, used once

Steel can used once

Recycled steel can

Glass drink bottleGlass drink bottleused onceused once

Recycled aluminum canRecycled aluminum can

Recycled glass drink bottleRecycled glass drink bottle

Refillable drink bottle, used 10 timesRefillable drink bottle, used 10 times

00 88 1616 2424 3232

Energy (thousands of kilocalories)Energy (thousands of kilocalories)

Fig. 21.6, p. 529

Characteristics of Recyclable MaterialsCharacteristics of Recyclable Materials

Easily isolated from other wastesAvailable in large quantitiesValuablePay-as-you-throw garbage collection

Benefits of RecyclingBenefits of Recycling

Saves energy: reduces demands on energy for cleaning, and treating wastes and pollution

Reduces air pollution: reduces global warming, reduces acid deposition, reduces urban air pollution

Reduces solid waste disposal; reduces demand on minerals Reduces water pollution Protects species by reducing demand for space and habitat

destruction

Recycling in the USRecycling in the US

Centralized recycling of mixed waste (MRFs)

Separated recyclingEconomic benefitsIncreasing recycling in the US

Case Studies: Recycling Aluminum, wastepaper, and plastics

Case Studies: Recycling Aluminum, wastepaper, and plastics

40% of aluminum recycled in US Recycled aluminum uses over 90% fewer

resources than mining for more Paper: preconsumer vs. postconsumer recycling 10% or less of plastic recycled in US Plastics are VERY difficult to recycle

Detoxifying wastesDetoxifying wastes

Bioremediation: used for petrol and pcbs Microorganisms breakdown wastes Phytoremediation Removal of wastes from the soil like cyclodextrin

and silver II

What is MSW?What is MSW?

MSW-Municipal Solid Waste is trash or garbage is made up of things we commonly throw away

consists of everyday items such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries

What is Landfill?What is Landfill?

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are used for the disposal of residential, non-hazardous commercial, and non-hazardous industrial wastes. Secure landfills are the final disposal option for treated hazardous wastes that once were flammable or toxic wastes.

How are landfills made?How are landfills made? The land must be carefully screened to ensure that the

chosen site meets all engineering, geological, and regulatory specifications

The volume of space must be estimated Federal regulations restrict the siting of a landfill to

areas that are not in, or near, airports, floodplains, wetlands, or zones of geologic instability — faults or the potential for earthquake activity

Regulations in the Ohio Administrative Code prohibit landfills in, or near, national and state parks, aquifer systems and ground water used as drinking water sources, residences, and surface water

An Example of a LandfillAn Example of a Landfill

Sanitary LandfillSanitary Landfill

Topsoil

Sand

Clay

Garbage

Garbage

Sand

Synthetic liner

Sand

Clay

Subsoil

When landfill is full,layers of soil and clayseal in trash

Methane storageand compressor

building

Electricitygeneratorbuilding

Leachatetreatment system

Methane gasrecovery

Pipe collect explosivemethane gas used as fuel

to generate electricity

Compactedsolid waste

Leachatestorage tanks

Leachatemonitoringwell

Leachatemonitoringwell

GroundwaterGroundwater

Groundwatermonitoringwell

Groundwatermonitoringwell

Leachate pipesLeachate pumped upto storage tanks for

safe disposal

Leachate pipesLeachate pumped upto storage tanks for

safe disposal

Clay and plastic liningto prevent leaks; pipescollect leachate from

bottom of landfill

Three Hazards of Landfills:Water Pollution

Three Hazards of Landfills:Water Pollution

Many of these chemicals are toxic at very low levels and are slowly leaking and poisoning the air and groundwater of surrounding communities

Leaking landfills have polluted drinking water wells with cancer-causing chemicals such as toluene or vinyl chloride and have harmed many communities

Yet modern landfills are designed with liners to prevent leakage into the ground and surrounding areas

However, liner warranties and landfill caps typically last only 20 years.

Air PollutionAir Pollution

Biodegradable garbage rotting in a landfill produces methane gas—a ‘greenhouse gas’ that contributes to global warming

Methane is 21times more potent in its greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide and landfills are the largest man-made source of methane (37% globally)

If society composts and separates biodegradable materials, then methane production can be reduced and made into compost(a valuable resource for fertilizing soil)

Waste management in EuropeWaste management in Europe Waste management in

Europe varies from country to country.

Greece by far has the most landfill waste in Europe, even though they have Europe’s largest recycling plant(Irony!)

60% of all household waste in the U.K. is either recyclable or compostable, but they only reuse 18% of it.

Waste Production StatisticsWaste Production Statistics Each day, Americans

produce enough trash to completely fill 63,000 garbage trucks.

The average American throws away nearly 4.39 lbs. of garbage each day.

Merely 1/10th of all garbage is recycled.

How much do we really throw out?How much do we really throw out? One out of every six trucks in America are garbage

trucks On average, an American will throw out 600 times

their weight in trash annually. 150 lb person= about 45 tons (90,000 lbs) of garbage in a lifetime.

An average baby creates 2,000 lbs of trash each year.

http://www.oberlin.edu/recycle/facts.html

Municipal Solid Waste Fun FactMunicipal Solid Waste Fun Fact

The Astrodome would be filled in two weeks with the trash from Texas.

Gee Whiz Waste Gee Whiz Waste FactsFacts

Gee Whiz Waste Gee Whiz Waste FactsFacts

In the United States, 4.39 pounds of trash per day & 56 tons of trash per year are created by the average person.

2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour.65 billion aluminum soda cans are used each year.570 diapers are thrown away per second, 49 million per day. That means 100,000 tons of plastic and 800,000 tons of tree pulp in diapers are getting thrown away, causing to waste $350 million annually to deal with their disposal. Only 1/10 of all trash gets

recycled!!!

A Couple Graphs :XA Couple Graphs :X

Graph of Nuclear Waste from Country to Country

Countries who are/are not getting involved with trying to

help the environment with waste production.

Food!!!Food!!!

Food waste is the third largest component of generated waste.

The amount of food we Americans waste has increased by 1.2 million tons in the last 25 years .

(http://www.green-networld.com/facts/waste.htm)

WasteWaste

40% of the food produced in the US goes to waste

25% of what enters our homes is not eaten Yet 13.2% of all people in the US lived in poverty

in 2008 Where does the food go? Landfills as MSW

Discharges into waterDischarges into water

This is the release of unwanted waste material into water systemsThis includes discharges and also fertilizer runoff

Recycle Cooking Oil!Recycle Cooking Oil! Cooking oil:

Can harm wildlife and ruin local sewage systemsMost cooking oils when burnt can produce harmful compounds, including transfat

Yes, we can recycle used cooking oil to produce biodiesel (after it goes through transesterification and is purified)

This biodiesel may produce 87% less emissions than regular diesel

When recycling, try not to mix different substances, including different types of oil

Oil can be recycledOil can be recycled If you change the oil in your car, the place where you

purchased oil must accept the used oil in your car. (You can also take it to recycling centers, like transfer station in Yorktown.)

The Congress finds and declares that— (1) used oil is a valuable source of increasingly scarce energy and materials; (2) technology exists to re-refine, reprocess, reclaim, and otherwise recycle used oil; (3) used oil constitutes a threat to public health and the environment when reused or disposed of improperly; and that, therefore, it is in the national interest to recycle used oil in a manner which does not constitute a threat to public health and the environment and which conserves energy and materials.

If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year!

If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year!

Recycling Facts!Recycling Facts! 80 million Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using 50 acres of

space that compares to 40 football fields. Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute. A single quart of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of

fresh water. One person creates 4.4 pounds of municipal solid waste (MSW) per

day which means they contribute one ton of trash every year Family households consumes a total of 341 gallons which can be

recycled easily. http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-facts.html

Recycling FactsRecycling Facts If only 100,000 people stopped their junk, mail, we could save up to 150,000 trees annually. If a million people did this, we could save up to a million and a half trees.

The junk mail Americans receive in one day could produce enough energy to heat 250,000 homes. The average American still spends 8 full months of his/her life opening junk mail. $1 out of every $11 Americans spend for food goes for packaging.

Producing one pound of recycled rubber versus one pound of new rubber requires only 29% of the energy.

Every two weeks, Americans wear almost 50 million pounds of rubber off their tires. That’s enough to make 3 1/4 million new tires from scratch.

Styrofoam is un-recyclable- you can't make it into new Styrofoam. The industry wants you to assume it is.

Every year we make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap Texas. States with bottle deposit laws have 35-40% less litter by volume. Glass never wears out -- it can be recycled forever. We save over a ton of resources for every ton

of glass recycled -- 1,330 pounds of sand, 433 pounds of soda ash, 433 pounds of limestone, and 151 pounds of feldspar.

Did You Know?Did You Know?

Recycling just one Aluminum can saves enough energy to power a Television for 3 HOURS

Coca-Cola Plant-Bottle!Coca-Cola Plant-Bottle! Fully Recyclable Lower reliance on petrol Sugar Cane and Molasses 30% plant based material 25% reduction in carbon emissions Coke, Dasani, VitaminWater, and future products

It takes 2/3 less energy to make products from recycled plastic than from virgin plastic

However, not all plastics can be recycled; there are as many types of plastics as there are uses

As a result, plastics have to be carefully sorted since they can only be recycled with their own kind

Sorting can be an elaborate and costly process If there is enough plastic of the wrong kind, an entire batch of

would-be recyclables can be ruined, costing a lot of energy, and the whole batch ends up in a landfill

So, though it seems counter-intuitive, it can actually be better in some cases to throw away a product that you are not sure is recyclable

Solutions: Achieving a Low-Waste SocietySolutions: Achieving a Low-Waste Society

Local grassroots actioninternational ban on 12 persistent

organic pollutants (the dirty dozen)Cleaner productionImproved resource productivityService flow economies