Solid and Hazardous Waste John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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1 Solid and Hazardous Waste 23

2 Solid Waste Waste Preven;on Overview of Chapter 23 Reducing the Amount of Waste Reusing Products Recycling Materials Hazardous Waste Types of Hazardous Waste Management of Hazardous Waste

3 Waste electronics Computers replaced every ~18-24 months Perceived and oien obsolete soon E- waste electronic waste of high quality plas;cs and metals that comprise computers (and phones) U.S. 30kg per person annually Business of recycling e-waste Selling recyclable electronic products Ship most e-waste overseas (disassembly can increase exposure to hazards)

4 Solid Waste U.S. generates more solid waste per capita than any other country 1.99kg (4.38lb) per person per day 251 million tons in 2012 (increase from 2010) Waste genera;on is highest in developed countries Instead of repairing items, they are replaced

5 Types of Solid Waste Municipal solid waste Solid material discarded by homes, office buildings, retail stores, schools, etc. Rela;vely small por;on of solid waste produced Non- municipal solid waste Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining

6 Composi;on of Municipal Solid Waste

7 Disposal of Solid Waste Three methods Sanitary Landfills Replaced open dumps Incinera;on Recycling

8 Sanitary Landfill Compac;ng and burying waste under a shallow layer of soil Most common method of disposal Problems Methane gas produc;on by microorganisms Contamina;on of surface water & ground water by leachate Not a long- term remedy Few new facili;es being opened Closing a full landfill is very expensive

9 Sanitary Landfill

10 Sanitary Landfill Special Problem: Plas;c Much of plas;c waste is from packaging Plas;cs are chemically stable and do not readily break down and decompose Photodegradable plastics (break down under sunlight) and biodegradable plastics (broken down by soil microorganisms) have been developed but are slow to be employed

11 Sanitary Landfill Special Problem: Tires Made from materials that cannot be recycled Can be incinerated or shredded Tire fires that start are extremely difficult to extinguish, and release toxins to the air!!!

12 Tire Fire in Texas: !!!

13 Incinera;on Volume of solid waste reduced by 90% Produces heat that can make steam to generate electricity Produce less carbon emissions than fossil fuel power plants Byproduct Bofom ash Fly ash

14 Incinera;on - Types of Incinerators Mass burn (below), Modular, Refuse- derived Mass burn, waste to energy incinerator

15 Incinera;on - Problems Produc;on of hazardous air pollutants Carbon monoxide, par;culates, heavy metals Reduced by Lime Scrubbers Electrosta;c Precipitators Byproduct - Bofom ash (slag) and Fly ash Must be disposed of in hazardous waste landfills

16 Compos;ng Municipal Solid Waste Compos;ng Includes: Food scraps, Sewage sludge, Agricultural manure, Yard waste Reduces yard waste in landfills Can be sold or distributed to community Concern over heavy metals

17 Waste Preven;on Three Goals 1. Reduce the amount of waste 2. Reuse products 3. Recycle materials 4...the fourth R?????.RESPOND!!! Or REBUY.or REPURPOSE.or REGULATE!!!!

18 Reducing Waste Purchase products with less packaging

19 Source reduc;on Reducing Waste Products designed and manufactured to decrease the volume of solid waste Reuse and recycle wastes at the plant where they are generated 35% weight reduc;on in aluminum cans since 1970s

20 Reducing Waste Pollu;on Preven;on Act (1990) first U.S. law to focus on reduc;on of waste at the source Requires EPA to iden;fy source reduc;on measures Requires manufacturers to report their source reduc;on and recycling ac;vi;es to the EPA Dematerializa;on Progressive decrease in the size and weight of a product as a result of technological improvements

21 Reusing Products Refilling glass beverage bofles used to be standard Heavier glass required in reusable glass bofles- costs more to make and transport Cheaper to use lightweight, non- reusable glass Japan recycles almost all bofles Reused 20 ;mes 11 U.S. States have deposits on cans and bofles to promote reuse

22 U.S. recycles 38% of Municipal Solid Waste Recycling Paper U.S. recycles 62.1% Increased due to consumer demand for recycled paper products Recycling

23 Recycling Materials Every ton of recycled paper saves: 17 trees 7000 gallons of water 4100 kwaf- hrs of energy 3 cubic yards of landfill space Recycle Glass bofles, newspapers, steel cans, plas;c bofles, cardboard, office paper

24 Recycling Glass Recycling Glass US recycles 25% Costs producers less than new glass Can be used to make glasphalt

25 Recycling Recycling Aluminum Making new can from recycled one costs far less than making a brand new one (economic incen;ve) 55% of aluminum was recycled in 2012 Recycling Metals other than Aluminum Metal recycling influenced by economy Lead, gold, iron, steel, silver and zinc Metallic composi;on is oien unknown Makes recycling difficult

26 Recycling Plas;c 14% of all plas;c is recycled (2012) Recycling May be less expensive to make from raw materials 31% of PET in water and soda bofles is recycled Most plas;c containers are made of many types of plas;c that must be separated to be recycled (PET = polyethylene terphthalate) Used to make carpe;ng, clothing, felt, auto parts, etc.

27 The Special Problem of Plastics Plastic Bags! According to the WorldWatch Institute, Factories around the world churned out a whopping 4-5 trillion of them in 2002! China has instituted a plastic bag ban since 2008! So has San Francisco, CA and many other cities in the U.S. are now following suit!

28 Recycling Tires 45% recycled in 2012 Few products are made from old ;res Playground equipment Trashcans Garden hose Carpet Roofing materials Recycling

29 Integrated Waste Management

30 Hazardous Waste Any discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment Reac;ve, corrosive, explosive or toxic chemicals Dioxins PCBs Radioac;ve waste 1% of waste stream in U.S. Love Canal (1977) Classic case of hazardous waste contamina;ng human and environmental health Love Canal Toxic Waste Site

31 Hazardous Waste

32 Hazardous Waste Dioxin Formed as byproduct of combus;on of chlorine compounds (medical waste incinera;on and others) Bioaccumulates and biomagnifies through food web Causes cancer, effect reproduc;ve, immune and nervous system Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Used as cooling fluid, fire retardant, lubricator Disposed of in open dumps, sewers and fields in 1970s - issue in groundwater today Con;nues to biomagnify through food webs (esp. large fish) Endocrine disrupter

33 Case- In- Point Hanford Nuclear Reserva;on

34 Management of Hazardous Waste Chemical accidents Na;onal Response Center no;fied Typically involves oil, gasoline or other petroleum spill Current Management Policies Resource Conserva;on and Recovery Act (1976, 1984) EPA iden;fies which wastes are hazards, and prevents hazardous waste from being disposed on land unless is has been treated properly first to reduce toxicity Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa;on, and Liability Act (1980) Commonly known as Superfund

35 Superfund Program (CERCLA) Cleaning up existing hazardous waste: 400,000 waste sites Leaking chemical storage tanks and drums (below) Pes;cides dumps Piles of mining wastes >10,000 hazardous sites qualify

36 Management of Hazardous Waste Superfund Na;onal Priori;es List 2014: 1,326 sites on the list States with the greatest number of sites New Jersey (114) California (97) Pennsylvania (95) New York (86) Michigan (65)

37 Management of Hazardous Waste Biological Treatment of Hazardous Chemicals Bioremedia;on - use of bacteria and other microorganisms to break down hazardous waste into rela;vely harmless products 1000 species of bacteria and fungi Time consuming Inexpensive Phytoremedia;on- use of plants to absorb and accumulate hazardous materials in the soil Phytoextrac;on Ex: Indian mustard removes heavy metals

38 Examples of Phytoremedia;on

39 Management of Hazardous Waste 1) Source reduc;on 1) Most effec;ve 2) Conversion to less hazardous materials 3) Long- term storage

40 Hazardous Waste Landfill

41 Basel Conven;on on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes FROM EPA The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is a multilateral agreement negotiated under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) beginning in The negotiators of the Convention wanted to promote environmentally sound management of exported and imported waste, especially in developing countries. The Basel Convention establishes standards for the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, solid waste, and municipal incinerator ash, including notice to and written confirmation from the receiving country prior to export. As of December 2015, 183 states and the European Union are parties to the Convention. The United States is a signatory to the Basel Convention, but has not yet become Party to the Convention.