Waste Disposal and Recycling
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
3 Key Take-aways
We can never really throw anything awayWaste often does not stay putPreventing pollution is much safer & cheaper than trying to clean it up
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.
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.
Love Canal - There Is No “Away”
President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a federal disaster area.
The area was abandoned in 1980 (left).
Figure 22-1
Love Canal - There Is No “Away”Love Canal sparked creation of the Superfund law, which forced polluters to pay for cleaning up abandoned toxic waste dumps.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA 1980)Helps clean up hazardous waste sites
In 1983, Love Canal became the 1st superfund site
Took 20 years & 400 million to clean up
Core Case Study: Love Canal - There Is No “Away”
The dumpsite was covered with new clay capIn June 1990, state officials started selling some of the 260 homes that still remained in the area – renamed Black Creek Village
No guarantees about safety of living in these homes
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.difficult to link long-term health effectsHow many other Love Canals are there around the world
Chemical time bombs
‣ Consumption of natural
resources by modern industrial
economies remains very high, in the
range of 45-85 tons per capita
annually.
Each person in an industrialized
society consumes many tons of
raw materials each year. These
must be extracted, processed,
and disposed of as waste.
Waste
Limestone quarry, Yorkshire Dales
Bulldozer working on landfill site, UK
Wasting ResourcesSolid waste: any unwanted or discarded material we produce that is not a liquid or gas.
Municipal solid waste (MSW): produce directly from homes. (Mostly paper)Industrial solid waste: produced indirectly by industries that supply people with goods and services.
Hazardous (toxic) waste: threatens human health or the environment because it is toxic, chemically active, corrosive or flammable.
WASTING RESOURCESThe US has 4.5% of world’s population, but produces 1/3 of the world’s trash.
About 98.5% is industrial solid waste.The remaining 1.5% is MSW.• 55% of U.S. MSW is dumped into landfills, • 30% is recycled or composted, and • 15% is burned in incinerators.
Wasting ResourcesTwo reasons to be concerned
¾ represents unnecessary waste of earth’s finite resourcesIn producing the products we use and discard, we are creating huge amounts of • Air pollution• Water pollution• Land degradation• Solid and hazardous waste
WASTING RESOURCES
Solid wastes polluting a river in Jakarta, Indonesia. The man in the boat is looking for items to salvage or sell.
Figure 22-3
Wasting ResourcesUS leads the world in trash production
4.5 pounds per person2 times as much as other industrialized nations5 – 10 times as much as developing countries
Trash buried in landfills38% paper12% yard waste11% food waste11% plastic
A lot of household waste ends up in landfills where it is eventually buried. In poorer countries people make a living by collecting items from other people’s rubbish.
Wasting Resources
Living from waste, Philippines
Wasting ResourcesWhat we throw away in our high waste economy
Enough aluminum to rebuild country’s commercial airline fleet every 3 monthsDiscarded carpet each year would cover Delaware27 million tons of edible food each yearEnough paper to build a wall 11 feet high across the entire country every year
Americans spend more money on trash bags than 90 other countries spend on everything they buy.
Wasting Resources: Electronics
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%
The disposal of solid and hazardous wastes is one of the most urgent problems of today’s industrialized societies.
Traditionally, solid waste has been disposed of in open dumps. More recently, disposal occurs in sanitary, scientifically designed sanitary landfills. Most municipal solid waste is disposed of in sanitary landfills.
New initiatives are increasingly being implemented by city councils and localauthorities for the reduction, reuse, and recycling of solid waste, and thesafe disposal of hazardous waste,including oil and industrial chemicals.
The safe disposal of radioactive wastes is a problem as these wastes must be isolated and are usually stored on-site.
Solid Waste Management
Radioactive waste
Open dumps are being preplaced by landfills
Integrated Waste ManagementThere is no single solutionUse a variety of strategies for:
waste reduction waste management
This includes the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
Integrated Waste ManagementA program of idealized integrated waste management combines features of traditional waste managementwith new techniques to reduce and incinerate wastes.
Such schemes will form the basis of effective wastemanagement in the future.
Idealized management schemes for waste materialsprovide several tiers of processing. They provide astarting point for comparing how different waste productscould be processed or disposed of.
Recycling
Collection
Limiting waste per household
Separating green waste from other wastes
Reducing waste or avoid use
Primary Pollutionand Waste Prevention
First Priority Second Priority Last Priority
• Release waste into environment for
dispersal or dilution
• Bury waste in landfills
Waste Management
• Incinerate waste
• Buy reusable recyclable products
• Recycle
• Repair products
• Make products that last longer and are
recyclable, reusable, or easy to repair
• Reduce packaging and materials in
products
• Use less of a harmful product
Secondary Pollution and Waste Prevention
• Treat waste to reduce toxicity
• Purchase different products
• Reuse products• Change industrial
process to eliminate use of harmful
chemicals
• Compost
Integrated Waste Management
We can manage the solid wastes we produce and reduce or prevent their production.
Integrated Waste ManagementComponents of Integrated Waste Management
Processing and manufacturing Product consumption
Waste separated at source
Initial processing for recycling
or reuse
Garden waste
Paper Cans, jars, bottles
Mixed waste
Hazardous waste
PaperGlassPlastics
Cans
Compost
Products
Virgin materials Landfill Incinerator Hazardous waste management
Refuse to buy items that are not really needed.Reduce consumption by living simply and promoting the use of reusable containers like cloth grocery bags.Reuse items that can be used over and over like refillable water bottles.Repurpose items by using those items for another instead of throwing them away.Recycle: paper, glass, aluminum, plastics and buy items made from recycled materials.Rethink ways to educate, use new technology, or provide incentives of disincentives.
Solutions: Reduce, Reuse, RecycleReusable grocery bag
Candy wrapper purse
Recycled plastic bench
Fig. 22-6, p. 524
• Follow the five Rs of resource use: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle.
• Buy products in concentrated form whenever possible.
• Read newspapers and magazines online.
• Use e-mail in place of conventional paper mail.
• Refill and reuse a bottled water container with tap water.
• Do not use throwaway paper and plastic plates, cups and eating utensils, and other disposable items
when reusable or refillable versions are available.
• Buy things that are reusable, recyclable, or compostable, and be sure to reuse, recycle, and compost them.
• Rent, borrow, or barter goods and services when you can.
• Ask yourself whether you really need a particular item.
What Can You Do?
Solid Waste
PackagingMany packaging items are put into landfills, including boxes, packing peanuts, Styrofoam, shrink wrap, etc.Try to buy things that are not as highly packaged. Many companies use peanuts that are made from cellulose that can be washed down the drain and not put into landfills. Reuse containers and buy smart!
ReuseReusing 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.
How People Reuse Materials
Children looking for materials to sell in an open dump near Manila in the Philippines.
Figure 22-2
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%).
REUSEReducing resource waste: energy consumption for different types of 350-ml (12-oz) beverage containers.
Figure 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
DefinitionConservation of resources by converting them into new product.
RecyclingPrimary (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.
RECYCLINGTo promote recycling and separation of wastes, 4,000 communities in the U.S. have implemented pay-as-you-throw or fee-per-bag waste collection systems.
RECYCLINGComposting 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 - General PurposeRecycling saves land, reduces the amount of solid waste, energy consumption and pollution.Ex. recycling one aluminum can saves the energy of about 6 oz. of gasoline.
Recycling - BenefitsConserves our natural resourcesHas a positive effect on the economy by generating jobs and revenues. For example, the Sunday edition of the New York Times consumes 12,000 trees. Currently, only about 20% of all paper in North America is recycled.
Recycling - ProblemsRecycling does have environmental costs. It uses energy and generates pollution.Ex. the de-inking process in paper recycling requires energy, and produces a toxic sludge that contains heavy metals.
RECYCLINGRecycling 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.
REUSE & RECYCLINGReuse and recycling are hindered by
prices of goods that do not reflect their harmful environmental & health effects associated with the product over its life cycle, too few government subsidies and tax break: extracting industries receive more subsidies than recycling industries price fluctuations – must create demand for recycled products
Fig. 22-9, p. 529
Important part of economy
Source separation is inconvenient for
some people
Reduces profits from landfills and incinerators
Reduces air and water pollution
Saves energy
Reduces mineral demand
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Reduces solid waste production and disposal
Helps protect biodiversity
Can save money for items such as
paper, metals, and some plastics
Generating demand for recycled
products
May lose money for items such as glass and most plastic
DisadvantagesAdvantages
Trade-Offs
Recycling
Specific Recycled Items & Plastics
As the concern about landfill space increases, worldwide interest in recycling by means of composting is growing. Compost is the organic materials from plants and animals that is converted into a useful stable product by aerobic decomposition. Compost generally:
Reduces the amount of organic material that is placed into landfills, including paper which constitutes the majority of MSW.Aerates the soil, improves the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients and helps prevent erosion.Needs 6 to 12 inches of organic material, shade, water and aeration.
Biological Reprocessing
Home composting being turned
Compost piles can combust if not monitored
Composts - DefinitionA sweet-smelling, dark-brown, humus-like material that is rich in organic material and soil nutrients.
Compost heapCompost heap
Composts - Benefits
Aerates the soil.Improves soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients.Helps prevent erosion.Prevents nutrients from being dumped in landfills.
Recycling - OrganicComprise over 1/2 of the solid wasteIncludes paper, yard debris, wood materials, bio-solids, food, manure and agricultural residues, land clearing debris, and mixed municipal organic waste. Organic materials have been dumped in landfills or burned. Why not use them!
MetalsPrecious metals like: Gold, lead, nickel, steel, copper, silver, zinc, and aluminum are recyclable.World supply of rare metals will eventually run out
Glass
U.S. recycles about 36% of its glass containers. It costs less to recycle glass than to make new glass. Mixed color glass “cullet” is used for glassphalt, a glass/asphalt mixture.
AluminumThis is the most recycled material in the U.S. because of $.Making a new can from an old one requires a fraction of the energy than to make a new can from raw materials. Approximately 2/3 of cans are recycled each year, saving 19 million barrels of oil annually.
PaperU.S. currently recycles 40% of its paper and paperboard. Denmark, recycles about 97% of its paper. Many U.S. mills are not able to process waste paper. Many countries like Mexico, import a large amount of wastepaper from the U.S. We export about 19% of our recycled paper.
Nuclear WasteThe safe disposal of radioactive wastes is the problem.Radioactive wastes must be stored in an isolated area where they can’t contaminate the environment. It must have geological stability and little or no water flowing nearby. (Remember Yucca Mountain)
Plastic RecyclingRecycling many plastics is chemically and economically difficult to recycle. Plastics are often recycled into other forms of plastic and those plastics are often not recyclable.
Many plastics are hard to isolate from other wastes.
Recovering individual plastic resins does not yield much material.
The cost of virgin plastic resins is lower than recycled resins due to low subsidized fossil fuel costs.
There are new technologies that are making plastics biodegradable
Plastics must be sorted according to their resin identification code which indicates the type of material they were made from.
StyrofoamGrocery & bread bags
Shampoo and fast food service items
Milk bottles and butter tubs
Soft drink bottles Yogurt containers, straws, and bottle
caps
Other various plastics
Waste-to-energy incinerators reduce the volume of waste by up to 90% because of the large organic component that can be used for burning. Incineration can also be used to eliminate hazardous waste products.
While waste-to-energy incinerators contribute to CO2 emissions and air pollution, they produce less than power plants that run on fossil fuels.
Plasma gasification uses an ionized or electrically charged gas to convert waste into a syngas which can be used in energy production.
Energy Recovery
Plasma arc converters can reach temperatures of 12,600 Fahrenheit changing molecular bonds
Organic material is burned to boil water producing steam which turns a turbine, generating electricity
Burning Solid Waste
Waste-to-energy incinerator with pollution controls that burns mixed solid waste which can contribute to air pollution
Figure 22-10
Waste-to-Energy Incineration1) the volume of waste is reduced by up to 90% and 2) the heat produced, produces steam, which can warm buildings or generate electricity. In 1999, the U.S. had 110 waste-to-energy incinerators, which burned 16% of the nation’s solid waste & produces less CO2 emissions than power plants that run on fossil fuels, but still contribute to air pollution.
Burying Solid WasteBurying solid waste has many problems associated with it as well like groundwater contamination, production of methane gas, and incomplete decomposition of waste.
Burying Solid WasteMost 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.
Landfills
DefinitionSolid waste is placed in a hole, compacted, and covered with soil. Reduces the number of rats associated with solid waste, lessens the danger of fire, and decreases the odor.
Landfills: Current CriteriaLandfills cannot pollute surface or groundwater.Compacted to reduce volume and covered daily with soilClay and plastic sheets are at the bottom (prevents liquid waste from seeping into groundwater)A double liner system must be present (plastic, clay, plastic, clay), and a system to collect leachate (liquid that seeps through the solid waste)
Burning Solid WasteGlobally, 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.
Fig. 22-12, p. 532
Sand
When landfill is full,layers of soil and clay
seal in trash
Methane storageand compressor
building
Leachatestorage
tank
Leachatemonitoring
well
Groundwatermonitoring
well
Electricitygeneratorbuilding Leachate
treatment system
Methane gasrecovery well
Compactedsolid waste
Leachatepipes
Leachate pumpedup to storage tankfor safe disposal
GroundwaterClay and plastic liningto prevent leaks; pipescollect leachate from
bottom of landfill
Topsoil
SandClaySubsoil
Probes todetect
methaneleaks
Garbage
Garbage
Syntheticliner
Sand
Clay
Pipes collect explosive methane as used as fuel
to generate electricity
Landfills: Current CriteriaOil
Not allowedMust go to an automotive or environmental company for recycling.
AntifreezeNot allowedMust be sent to an automotive or environmental company for recycling.
Landfills: Current CriteriaAir Conditioner Coolants
Not allowedMust be sent to an automotive or environmental company for recycling.
Lead Acid (Car Batteries)Not allowedMust be sent to an automotive or an environmental company for recycling.
Case Study: What Should We Do with Used Tires?
We face a dilemma in deciding what to so with hundreds of millions of discarded tires.
Case Study: What Should We Do with Used Tires?
They can burn for years producing large amounts of toxic air pollutants... Very hard to put out
TiresAre allowed in landfill if they are shredded otherwise they are recycled.
Hazardous WasteHazardous waste: is any discarded solid or liquid material that is toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive enough to explode or release toxic fumes.
The two largest classes of hazardous wastes are• synthetic organic compounds (e.g. pesticides, PCBs,
dioxins) and • toxic heavy metals (e.g. lead, mercury, arsenic).
Hazardous waste is a major cause of groundwater contamination from landfills.
Fig. 22-15, p. 534
What Harmful Chemicals Are in Your Home?
• Glues and cements
• Dry-cell batteries (mercury and cadmium)
• Rust inhibitor and rust remover
• Brake and transmission fluid
General
Cleaning
• Battery acid
• Wood preservatives
• Stains, varnishes, and lacquers
Automotive
• Gasoline• Used motor oil
Paint• Latex and oil-based paints• Paint thinners, solvents,
and strippers
Gardening
• Pesticides• Weed killers
• Ant and rodent killers
• Antifreeze
• Flea powders
• Disinfectants
• Septic tank cleaners• Spot removers
• Drain, toilet, and window cleaners
• Artist paints and inks
• Solvents
Certain substances in the environment are harmful when absorbed in high concentrations. These substances include:
Pesticides
Radioactive isotopes
Heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury).
Industrial chemicals such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).
They can be taken up by organisms via food or water or simply absorbed from the surroundings.
Many of the toxins and chemical substances can easily leach into groundwater.
Chemicals and toxins can be released at safe levels but may react or combine with other chemicals, from synergism, to create dangerous mixtures.
Toxins in the Environment
Poisonous chemical store
Spraying apples with insecticide, Japan
‣ Bioaccumulation (also called biological magnification) occurs when highly persistent pesticides, which cannot be metabolized or excreted, are stored and accumulate in the fatty tissues of the body.There is a progressive concentration of the pesticides with increasing trophic level; higher order consumers are at greater risk because they eat a large number of lower order consumers.
BioaccumulationBiomagnification of DDT in
an aquatic ecosystem
Hazardous Waste Regulations (US)Two major federal laws regulate the management and disposal of hazardous waste in the U.S.:
RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • Tracks waste progress• Cradle-to-the-grave system to keep track of waste.
CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act• Commonly known as Superfund program.• Clean up abandoned waste sites
Hazardous Waste Regulations (US)The Superfund law was designed to have polluters pay for cleaning up abandoned hazardous waste sites.
Most severe sites on NPL – National Priorities ListOnly 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.
Hazardous Waste Regulations (US)Brownfields
Abandoned, contaminated industrial & commercial sites.• Factories, junkyards, older landfills, gas stations
Not as bad as superfund sitesCan be cleaned up & redeveloped as parks, atheletic fields, preserves, etc.
DEALING WITH HAZARDOUS WASTE
We can produce less hazardous waste and recycle, reuse, detoxify, burn, and bury what we continue to produce.
Conversion to Less Hazardous SubstancesPhysical Methods: using charcoal or resins to separate out harmful chemicals.Chemical Methods: using chemical reactions that can convert hazardous chemicals to less harmful or harmless chemicals, usually by incineration.Biological Methods:
Bioremediation: bacteria or enzymes help destroy toxic and hazardous waste or convert them to more benign substances.Phytoremediation: involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter and remove contaminants from polluted soil and water.
PhytostabilizationPlants such as willow trees and poplars can absorb chemicals and
keep them from reaching groundwater
or nearby surface water.
RhizofiltrationRoots of plants such as
sunflowers with dangling roots on ponds or in green-
houses can absorb pollutants such as radioactive strontium -90
and cesium-137 and various organic chemicals.
PhytodegradationPlants such as poplars
can absorb toxic organic chemicals and break them down into less harmful compounds which they store or
release slowly into the air.
Inorganicmetal contaminantsOrganic contaminants
Radioactivecontaminants
Brake fernPoplar treeIndian mustardWillow treeSunflower
Oilspill
Landfill
GroundwaterSoil
PollutedleachateDecontaminated
water out
Pollutedgroundwater in
GroundwaterSoil
PhytoextractionRoots of plants such as Indian mustard and brake ferns can absorb toxic metals such as
lead, arsenic, and others and store them in their leaves.
Plants can then be recycled or harvested and incinerated.
Fig. 22-18, p. 538
Inexpensive
Low energy use
Easy to establish
Trade-Offs
Phytoremediation
Advantages Disadvantages
Some plants can become
toxic to animals
Some toxic organic chemicals
may evaporate from plant leaves
Produces little air pollution
compared to incineration
Can reduce material
dumped into landfills
Slow (can take several
growing seasons)
Effective only at depth plant
roots can reach
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.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.
Fig. 22-19, p. 538
Advantages
Trade-Offs
Plasma Arc
Small High cost
Produces no toxic ash
Can vaporize and release toxic metals and
radioactive elements
Can release particulates and chlorine gas
Mobile. Easy to move to different sites
Produces CO2 and CO
Disadvantages
Long-Term Storage: 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 chosen
carefully
Trade-Offs
Deep Underground Wells
Advantages Disadvantages
Encourageswaste production
Existing fracturesor earthquakes
can allow wastesto escape intogroundwater
Leaks fromcorrosion of well
casing
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
Groundwatercontamination
from leaking liners(or no lining)
Trade-Offs
Surface Impoundments
Advantages
Promotes wasteproduction
Disruption andleakage fromearthquakes
Overflow fromflooding
Air pollution fromvolatile organic
compounds
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 LandfillIn the U.S. there are only 21 commercial hazardous waste landfills.
Case Study: Lead
Lead is especially harmful to children and is still used in leaded gasoline and household paints in about 100 countries.
Figure 22-24
Case Study: MercuryMercury is released into the environment mostly by burning coal and incinerating wastes and can build to high levels in some types of fish.
Figure 22-26
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
Dep
ositi
on
Bacteria
Bacteria and acids
Settles out
Settles out
Settles out
Vaporization
Dep
ositi
on
Deposition
Achieving a Low-Waste SocietyIn the U.S., citizens have kept large numbers of incinerators, landfills, and hazardous waste treatment plants from being built in their local areas. (NIMBY)Environmental justice means that everyone is entitled to protection from environmental hazards without discrimination.
NIABY – Not In Anyone’s BackyardNOPE – Not On Planet Earth
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.
Solutions: mimic nature1. Consume less2. Redesign manufacturing processes and products to:
use less material and energycreate less pollution and waste
3. Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, recycle, or compost “cradle to cradle”
4. Eliminate or reduce packaging material5. Charge fee-per-bag for trash collection, but free
recycle collection6. Establish cradle to grave responsibility laws
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.