APES Solid and Hazardous waste

Solid Waste

Any unwanted, discarded material we produce (directly or indirectly) that is not a liquid or gas

indirect solid waste

pet "waste" or "waste" from cattle or chicken

industrial solid waste

From mines, agriculture, and industry to provide us with various products

Municipal Solid Waste

Garbage or trash produced at homes or at workplaces

hazardous waste

Waste that threatens the health of humans and the environment! Hazardous because it is poisonous, or highly chemically reactive, or corrosive, or flammable

3 largest groups of Hazardous Waste

organic compounds, radioactive waste, heavy metals

Organic compounds

include pesticides, PCBs, dioxin

Heavy metals

include mercury, lead, arsenic

Radioactive Waste

includes the waste from nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons facilities along with radioactive material from clean-up of "spills"

In developed countries, MSW is generally buried in

lined landfills or incinerated

in waste incinerators

In developing countries MSW (Municipal) is usually dumped in

open dumps

Two reasons for reducing our waste production

75% of this waste is a wasteful use of the Earth's natural resources, Production of products from “virgin” resources creates more pollution and land degradation

Industrial Solid Waste

98.5% of it is Industrial Solid Waste.

-Mining ~70-75%, Agriculture 10-15%, Industry ~10%

Municipal Solid Waste

-Remaining 1.5% is Municipal Solid Waste.

Paper/cardboard ~35%; yard waste ~10%; ~food waste 15%; plastic ~10%; metal ~10%.

Each year the average American produces

800.0 kilograms of MSW a year

with 3/4 going to landfills or incinerators

Waste Reduction

Produce less waste in the first place and view the waste as potential resources that can be reused, recycled, or composted

Waste Management

Attempts to reduce the environmental impact of MSW without seriously trying to reduce the amount of waste produced

Reduce

-Consume less and live a more simple lifestyle.

-Get your TV, fridge, oven, car fixed instead of buying a new one.

Reuse

-Rely on items that can be used repeatedly instead of throw-away items.

-Buying the reusable bottle instead of a water / juice bottle everyday.

Recycle

Separate and recycle paper, glass, plastic, metal, cardboard and buy products made from recycled materials.

Reuse

involves cleaning and using materials over and over thus increasing the typical life-span of the product

Pre-consumer or industrial waste

made during the manufacturing process

Post-consumer or external waste

is generated as consumers use of a product

Primary or “Closed-Loop” Recycling

Material are recycled into new versions of the same type of product.

-Aluminum cans to new cans

Secondary Recycling

Waste materials are converted into new products.

-Tires into road surfacing.

-Coal Fly Ash into bricks.

Material Recovery Facilities

machines and people that separate

mixed waste to recover valuable material

source separation

Scientists believe it makes more sense to separate the trash at the household level.

recycled paper

making recycled paper uses ~65% less energy, produces ~35% less water pollution and ~75% less air pollution

Composting

form of recycling by allowing bacteria to turn biodegradable organic waste into soil

Municipal Solid Waste buried

80% in Canada

15% in Japan

12% Switzerland

54% US

Open dumps

oles or fields where trash is dumped and sometimes openly burned.

-Rare in developed countries, common in developing countries usually nearby a major city

Sanitary Landfills

solid wastes are spread out in layers with layers of clay or plastic foam between layers

Generally, are lined to prevent leakage of contaminated water or leachate getting into the environment and ground water.

how should we deal with hazardous waste

1. Produce less of it.

2. Convert as much of it as possible to a less hazardous substance.

3. Put the rest in long term, safe storage

E waste recycling

hazardous recycling that is sent to developing countries without regulations to be recycled which in turn causes cancer rates and birth rates to spike because of the dangerous vapors being burned

physical methods to deal with hazardous waste

-Using charcoal and resins that filter out harmful solid particulate.

-Distilling liquid mixtures to separate out harmful chemicals.

-Distilling basically uses the different boiling temperatures of chemicals to

separate them.

-Encasing the most hazardous wastes in glass, cement, or ceramics, then put

into storage

chemical methods for hazardous waste

Nanomagnets, Cyclodextrin is like a sponge, picking up toxins

Bioremediation

the use of bacteria or enzymes to convert toxic materials to less harmful forms

Phytoremediation

using natural or genetically modified plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from soil and water.

plasma arc torch

High heat and electrical currents turns

the gases into plasma; gases made

up of conductive ions and electrons

deep well disposal

Liquid hazardous waste is pumped into porous rock beneath aquifers

Surface Impoundments

Ponds, pits, or lagoons which (should be) lined with a protective barrier. Also, according to the EPA, all liners will most likely leak sometime in the future

mercury or lead

Best way to deal with material like this is to reduce production then store what is produced in special containers. Storage should be in specially designed buildings or underground in salt mines or bedrock caverns.

Resource Conservation & Recovery Act

this act sets standards for management of several types of hazardous waste, issues permits for companies to produce and dispose of hazardous waste and monitors the disposal of certain hazardous wastes.

cradle to grave

Permit holders must use the "cradle to grave" system to keep track of the

waste from production to disposal

Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act/ Superfund

-Its goal is to identify sites with the most hazardous waste and environmental damage and clean them. -Prioritizes each site with worst receiving the most urgent attention. good example of this is the love canal.

Basel Convention

Basel Convention bans developed countries (in the treaty) from shipping hazardous waste to or through developing countries without their permission

Stockholm Convention

In 2000 at the Stockholm Convention 122 countries completed a global treaty to control the dirty dozen POP or 12 persistent organic pollutants

Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is an ideal where every person is entitled to protection from environmental hazards.