APES Chapter 16: Waste Generation, Terrestrial Pollution, and Waste Disposal

Moduels 51-55

Waste

Material outputs from a system that are not useful or consumed.

Planned Obsolescence

The process of designing a product so that it will need to be replaced in a few years. Things like disposable napkins count here.

Municipal Solid Waste

MSW

Refuse collected by municipalities from households, small businesses, and institutions. 60% comes from residences and 40% from facilities.

Industrial waste, agricultural waste, and mining waste are seperate.

Waste Stream

The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid waste landfill, or disposed of in another way.

US Waste Stream Percentages

27% Paper

15% Food Scraps

13% Plastics

13% Yard Waste

9% Metals

8% Rubber and textiles

6% Wood

5% Glass

3% Other

Wood, yard waste, and food scraps can be composted.

Paper, and other

E-Waste

Electronic waste, about 2% of the global waste stream. Dangerous because things like mercury, lead, and cadmium can leak out and leech into groundwater over time.

The Three R’s

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. A popular phrase promoting the idea of diverting materials from the waste stream.

Reduce: aka waste minimization and waste prevention. Includes Source Reduction. Both a corporate and individual level. Using less also cuts down on energy costs.

Reuse: Using a product or material that as intended to be discarded. Common in the US before it became a throw-away society. Things like e-bay and flea markets count.

Recycle: The process by which materials destined to. become MSW are collected and converted into raw materials that are then used to produce new objects. Closed-loop recycling is where materials are turned back into the same product (i.e. old aluminum cans being turned into new cans). Open-loop recycling is where one product or material is turned into another.

Source Reduction

An approach to waste management that seeks to cut waste by reducing the use of potential waste materials in the early states of design and manufacturing.

Composting

Creation of organic matter (humus) by decomposition under controlled conditions to produce an organic-rich material that enhances soil texture, cation exchange capacity, and fertility. Needs to be strategically layered, turned frequently, and watered if dry. Not turning it may result in methane production, which smells rancid.

Layers are made of brown waste (dried) and green waste (fresh).

Leachate

Liquid that contains elevated levels of pollutants as a result of having passed through MSW or contaminated soil.

Sanitary Landfill

An engineered ground facility designed to hold MSW with as little contamination of the surrounding environment as possible. Often have a plastic or clay lining, with tubes below to catch leachate.

Tipping Fee

A fee charged for disposing of material in a landfill or incinerator.

Siting

The designation of a landfill location, typically through a regulatory process involving studies, written reports, and public hearings.

Incineration

The process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes to generate electricity or heat.

Ash

the residual nonorganic material that does not combust during incineration.

Bottom Ash: residue collected at the bottom of the combustion chamber in a furnace.

Fly Ash: The residue collected fro the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace.

Waste-to-energy

A system in which heat generated by incineration is used as an energy source rather than released into the surrounding environment.

NIMBY

“Not in my backyard”

People who are opposed to infastructure being built too near their home, like landfills.

Hazardous Waste

Liquid, solid, or gaseous, or sludge waste material that is harmful to humans, ecosystems, or materials.

Four identifying characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity.

What is the best way to dispose of hazerdous waste?

There is no best way, other than not creating to waste in the first place.

RCRA

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Primary law covering “cradle to grave” hazardous waste.

Its Hazardous and Solid Waste Ammendments minimize and phase out hazardous waste on land.

CERCLA

Comprehensize Environmental Response, Conservation, and Liability Act. AKA the Superfund Act.

A 1980 federal act that imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, funds the cleanup of abandoned and nonoperating hazardous waste sites, and authorizes the federal government to respond directly to the release or threatened release of substances that may pose a threat to human health or the environment.

Brownfields

Contaminated commercial or industrial sites that may require environmental cleanup before they can be redeveloped or expanded.

Life-cycle Analysis

A systems tool that examines the materials used and released throughout the lifetime of a product- from the procurement of raw materials through their manufacture, use, and disposal.

AKA cradle-to-grave analysis

Integrated Waste Management

An approach to waste disposal that employs several waste reduction, management, and disposal strategies in order to reduce the environmental impact of MSW.