8.3 Solid domestic waste

what are some examples of non-biodegradable solid domestic waste

plastic, batteries, e-waste

what are some strategies used to manage solid domestic waste

altering human activity by reducing consumption and composting of food waste, controlling release of pollutants by creating legislation to encourage recycling and reuse initiative and impose tax for SDW collection, clean-up and restoration by reclaiming land-fills, use of SDW for trash to energy programmes and implementing initiatives to remove plastics from the oceans

what is solid domestic waste

our rubbish, a mixture of paper, packaging, organic materials, glass, dust, metals, plastic, textiles, paint, old batteries, electronic waste

how much total waste is SDW

5%

what is SDW production per capita per day in the USA and EU

USA 3.5kg, EU 1.4kg

what does a circular economy aim to do

be restorative of the environment, use renewable energy sources, eliminate or reduce toxic wastes, eradicate waste through careful design

what does the circular economy rely on

manufacturers retaining ownership of their products and so being responsible for recycling them

what are the three strategies to reduce waste

reduce, reuse, recycle

how can we reduce waste

make sure you know how to maintain your possessions, buy things that will last, look for items with less packaging, buy products that are made from recycled materials etc

how can we reuse waste

returnable bottles, compost food waste, use old clothes as cleaning rags, hire DVDs, read E-books

what does recycling involve

collecting and separating waste materials and processing them for reuse

what are the options for waste materials if they are not recycled or reused

landfill sites, incineration

what are some things that are taken into consideration when selecting a landfill site

they are not too close to areas of high population density, water courses, aquifers

why are landfills lined with special plastic liners

to prevent leachate seeping out

what happens to the leachate in lanfills

it is collected in pipes

what happens to methane produced as a result of fermenting organic material

it is ether collected and used to generate electricity or vented to the atmosphere

what happens in incinerators

the waste is burned at temperatures up to 2000C

what is waste-to-energy incineration

where the heat produced from incineration is used to generate steam to drive a turbine or heat buildings directly

what is the most problematic air pollution that arises from incineration

dioxins from burning plastics and heavy metals released by burning lead and cadmium

what is anaerobic digestion

when biodegradable matter is broken down by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen, the methane produced can be used as fuel and the waste later used as fertilizer or soil conditioner

what do anaerobic digesters do

break down the waste and produce methane which can be used as fuel, and a digestate which is a fertilizer