Waste - Chp 17 ENSC

Waste Disposal Methods

• Open Dumps Release Hazardous Materials

• Ocean dumping is nearly uncontrollable

• We Often Export Wastes to Other Countries

• Sanitary Landfills

• Incineration (also called Energy Recovery)

electric waste

e waste

Energy Recovery

heat derived from incinerated refuse is a useful resource

Refuse-Derived Fuel

refuse is sorted to remove recyclable & unburnable materials

Mass Burn

everything smaller than major furniture & appliances loaded into furnace

Recycling

the reprocessing of discarded materials into new, useful products

Demanufacturing

the disassembly & recycling of obsolete appliances & electronics

hazardous waste

any discarded material, liquid or solid, that contains substances

Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976

• Comprehensive program requiring rigorous testing & management of toxic & hazardous substances 

• “Cradle (point of generation) to grave (ultimate disposal)” accounting

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability ACT (CERCLA) 1980

• Aimed at rapid containment, cleanup, or remediation of abandoned toxic waste sites

• Establishes a community “right to know”

Toxic Release Inventory

requires 20,000 manufacturing facilities to report annually on releases of more than 300 toxic materials

Brownfields

contaminated properties that have been abandoned or are not being used up to potential b/c of pollution concerns

Hazardous Waste Management Options

• Produce Less Waste

• Convert to Less Hazardous Substances

• Store Permanently

• Secure Landfills

Produce Less Waste (Hazardous Waste Management Options)

• Avoid creating wastes in the first place

• Recycle & Reuse: what is waste to one industry is raw product for another

• Use less toxic alternative

Convert to Less Hazardous Substances (Hazardous Waste Management Options)

• Physical Treatment (isolation)

• Incineration

• Chemical Processing (Transformation to non-toxic substances)

• Bioremediation (Microorganisms detoxify, plants absorb)

Store Permanently (Hazardous Waste Management Options)

• Retrievable Storage

• Can be inspected & periodically retrieved if necessary

Secure Landfills (Hazardous Waste Management Options)

Modern, complex landfills w/ multiple liners & other impervious layers, covered by a cap. Leachate is processed & monitoring sees that no toxins escape

Retrievable Storage

in containers in salt mines or caverns

Benefits of Recycling

• Saves money, raw materials, & landfill space

• Reduces pressure on disposal systems

• Reduces energy consumption & air pollution