What a Waste!

• Definitions of Solid Wastes

  • US Environmental Protection Agency: Any garbage or refuse, sludge, from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, and other discarded material, resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities

  • Department of Environment and Natural Resources: All discarded household, commercial waste, non-hazardous institutional, ports/harbor and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agriculture waste, and other non-hazardous/non-toxic solid waste

  • Envi. Sci. Class: All unwanted non-liquid and non-soluble types of waste

• Solid Waste and Human Health

  • Breeding of Disease Vectors

    • Improper solid waste management is positively correlated with Dengue incidences

    • Such wastes are larval habitats, breeding spots for Aedes egypti mosquitoes which spread dengue

  • Generation of “leachates”

    • Leachates: any contaminated liquid with heavy metals and bacterial pollutants that is generated from water percolating through as solid waste disposal site

    • Primarily found in industrial wastes, they may affect and contaminate the food chain

• The Plastic Problem

  • Facts and Data

    • Production

      • According to UNEP, 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, and not all of it is recycled

      • Only 9% of all plastic produced is recycled

      • Single-use plastics are illegal in some parts of the world

      • World plastic production has doubled over the past 50 years

    • Consumption

      • 2 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide

      • The average time a plastic bag is used is just 12 minutes

      • One million plastic bottles are bought every minute

    • Disposal

      • Every minute of every day, a truckload of plastic is dumped in the ocean

      • 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic

      • There could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050

      • Up to 95% of plastic polluting oceans is carried by 10 rivers

    • Effects

      • 99% of seabirds will be eating plastic by 2050

      • The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year

  • Microplastics

    • Primary Microplastics

      • Smaller than 5 mm

      • Ex: Nurdles (beads from plastic manufacturing), cosmetic microbeads, clothing fibers

    • Secondary Microplastics

      • Large plastic items (ex: water bottles)

      • Caused by UV making plastic material brittle and physical breakdown due to wave action

Solid Waste in the Philippines and the World

• Worldwide Distribution of Solid Wastes

  • Fast Facts

    • The world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33% of that–extremely conservatively–not managed in an environmentally safe manner

    • Waste generated per person per day averages 0.74 kilogram but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms

  • Geographic Distribution

    • Fast-growing regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia) are expected to generate high amounts of waste in the coming years

    • Global waste is expected to grow to 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050, more than double population growth over the same period

  • Income Distribution

    • There is a positive correlation between waste generation and income level

    • High-income countries generate about 34% or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste

    • Higher-income groups generate more waste than lower-income groups

• Solid Waste Distribution in the Philippines

  

  • The most amount of wastes in communities come from domestic households

  • The predominant type of wastes in communities are biodegradable

Solid Waste Management

• Definition and Principles

  • Solid Waste Management: the control of generation, storage, collection, transport or transfer, processing and disposal of solid waste materials in a way that best addresses the range of public health, conservation, economic, aesthetic, engineering, and other environmental considerations

  • The Solid Waste Management System

    

• Solid Waste Processes

  • Waste Segregation

    • Determine if the waste is Biodegradable or Non-Biodegradable

    • Non-Biodegradable, Recyclable Materials may be broken down further:

      

  • Waste Disposal

    • Technology, System, and Method of waste disposal is dependent on both a nation’s financial capacity and technological sophistication

    • Onsite Disposal

      • Communal/Family Pit Disposal

        • Crucial to identify the location of the water sources

        • Design depends on the number of people

        • Must be fenced off and most preferred when organic wastes are the main components

        • Periodic soil cover may be needed with covered with thin layer of soil (~0.1 m thick) at least once a week

        • Ideally six cubic meters per fifty persons, but may be fairly shallow (usually a meter deep)

      • Communal/Family Bin

        • Designed to collect waste where it will not be dispersed by wind or animals, usually for “emergency” purposes

        • Plastic containers inappropriate as they can get blown over by wind

        • Oil drums ideal, base perforated to allow liquid to pass

        • A single-100 liter bin form every fifty people in domestic areas

        • Wastes must be regularly collected to off-site disposal sites

    • Offsite Disposal

      • Primary disposal method for NCR Solid Waste (Province of Rizal)

      • Incineration

        • Burning at high temperatures (900—1000^oC)

        • Leads to 90% reduction in solid waste volume

        • Produces heat which could be used to produce steam recovered as energy, alongside ash and non-combustibles

        • Disadvantages:

          • Expensive and illegal

          • Air pollution (nitrogen and sulfur oxides) causes acid rain

          • Emissions include particulate matter, lead, mercury, and dioxins

      • Sanitary Landfill

        • Types of Sanitary Landfill

          • Landraise: Build-up of waste to form a hill of variable dimensions which exceeds the initial elevation of the landscape

          • Landfill (sensu stricto): Encompasses tipping into appropriate natural depressions in the landscapes such as the valleys, or into ground excavations; such as quarries

        • Basic Operations and Setup

          

          • Confine the waste to the smallest practical area, reduce it to the smallest practical volume, and cover it with a layer of compacted soil or specially designed tarps at the end of each day of operation, or more frequently if necessary

          • The finishing cover (cap) is at least 50 cm of compacted soil (clay) designed to minimize infiltration of surface water

          • Leachate pipes prevent leachates (water percolating/leaching into the soil)

          • Methane can be harvested as a source of water

        • Factors for Sanitary Landfill Location

          • Unfavorable Sites for Refuse Disposal (Sanitary Landfills)

            • Limestone or highly fractured rock quarries and most sand and gravel pits

            • Limestones can be dissolved slowly by acidic waters such as rainwater. These are the common features that can develop due to dissolution of limestone

            • Ex: Swampy areas and floodplains, areas in proximity to the coast, areas underlain by highly permeable materials and with high water table (i.e., near to the surface)

          • Acceptable Sites for Refuse Disposal (Sanitary Landfills)

            • Linings for Waste Containment

              • Clay Sealing: Achieved by progressive importation of clay from other areas which provide a natural impermeable layer

              • Gomembranes: synthetic liners which are usually 0.5—2 mm thick with low permeability

              • Bitumen and Aggregate Liners: Cheap alternative for lining

            • Consider the unique geological characteristics of potential and current sites

            • Flat areas provided an adequate layer of material with low permeability is present above the rock hosting groundwater

            • If constrained with rough topography, “best” sites are near the head of gullies with minimum surface water

          • Other Considerations for Sanitary Landfill Operations

            • Engineering Work (Slope Failures or Leachate Barriers)

            • Monitoring and Rehabilitation Programs

              • Noise abatement (screening by tree), bird and pest control, prevention of odors and fires, well-secured area

              • Site restoration by adequate removal and monitoring of leachates and methane gas

              • Financial assurance criteria

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (R.A. 9003)

• Goals of the Act

  • Creates the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives

  • Declares certain acts prohibited

  • Provides penalties and appropriates funds

• Role of the LGU

  • The responsibility of each city/muncipality shall form a city/muncipal waste management board to prepare, submit, and implement a plan for the safe and sanitary management of solid waste generated within its jurisdiction

  • LGUs create a Local Government Solid Waste Management Plan (10-year plan for the reuse, recycling, and composting of wastes generated in their areas) AND ensure the efficient management of solid wastes generated within its jurisdiction

• Waste Segregation

  • Mandatory under Sec. 22 of RA 9003

  • Segregation of wastes should primarily be conducted at the source

  • There should be a designated area to accumulate source-separated recyclable materials to be collected by the municipality or private center

  • Separate, properly labeled containers for each type of wastes

• Recycling

  • Reclamation Programs and Buy-Back Centers for Recyclables and Toxics

  • Prohibition on the Use of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Packaging

  • Establishment of LGU Materials Recovery Facility (a facility to receive mixed waste for final sorting, segregation, composting, and recycling)

• Waste Management

  • Prohibition Against the Use of Open Dumps for Solid Waste

  • All waste management facilities are required to acquire an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) before being allowed operation

• Prohibited Acts

  • Littering, throwing, dumping of waste matters in public places, such as roads, sidewalks, canals, esteros or parks, and establishment, or causing or permitting the same

  • Open burning of solid waste

  • Permitting the collection of non-segregated or unsorted waste

  • Squatting in open dumps and landfills

  • Open dumping, burying of (non-)biodegradable materials in flood-prone areas

    Unauthorized removal of recyclable material intended for collection by authorized persons

  • The construction of any establishment within 200 meters from open dumps or controlled dumps, or sanitary landfills

  • The construction or operation of landfills or any waste disposal facility on any aquifer, groundwater reservoir or watershed area

• Fines and Penalties

  • Minor Offenses

    • A fine of not less than 300 php but not more than 1000 php

    • Render community service for not less than 1 day to not more than 15 days to an LGU where such prohibited acts are committed

  • Major Offenses

    • A fine of 500,000 php plus an amount not less than 5% but not more than 10% of their net annual income of the previous years