APES Chapter 22
What are the 3 solutions to the waste management process?
#1) SOURCE REDUCTION #2) Recycling + Composting #3) Any trash that can't be sent to MRFs or disposed of safely should be BURNED or BURIED.
What percent of US waste is actually reusable?
2-5%
What is the per capita daily waste of of the average US resident?
4.5lbs per person / per day
If all compostable materials in the waste stream were composted instead of put in a landfill, how much waste would be reduced (%) ?
59.2% could be reduced by composting compostable materials
What percent of Superfund sites have been cleaned?
60%
Dumps
Are areas where waste is disposed of and left exposed to the open air.
How do most undeveloped countries process their wastes?
Burning or Dumping their trash and wastes
Industrial Ecologists
these people would reshape industry so that nearly everything produced in a manufacturing process is used, either within that process or in a different one.
Why are many synthetic organic compounds toxic?
they can be readily absorbed through the skin of humans and other animals, and can act as mutagens, carcinogens, teratogens, and endocrine disruptors. They are also persistent pollutants.
Industrial Waste examples
this includes waste from factories, mining activities, agriculture, petroleum extraction, and more.
Deep Well injection
this is a process that is used to pump liquid hazardous wastes, like oil, underground--below the water table and aquifers, into porous rock and separated by impervious clay. *(Con: this is expensive, and waste may leak from the well shaft into groundwater after the pipes of this well eventually corrodes)* Types of wastes that uses this strategy include: oil, industrial/MSW/hazardous (as long as they are liquid). hazardous wastes cannot be stored in shallow wells. *can be used to sequester carbon dioxide*
Life Cycle Analysis
this is a strategy in which industrial ecologists examine the entire life cycle of a given product--from its origins in raw materials, through its manufacturing, to its use, and finally its disposal--and look for ways to make the process more ecologically efficient.
Social Justice
this is important in waste management to ensure that the all the people who live next to an incineration or landfill facility are not all wealthy, all poor, or all middle-class; this is important to ensure that all people are being treated fairly during the waste management process.
Composting
this is the conversion of organic waste into mulch of humus through natural biological processes of decomposition. Earthworms, Bacteria, Soil Mites, Sow Bugs and other detritivores and decomposers that compost waste.
Bottle Bill
this represents another approach that hinges on financial incentive; in 11 US states, laws such as this allows consumers to return bottles and cans to stores after use and receive a refund (about 5 cents per bottle or can).
Industrial Ecology
this seeks to redesign industrial systems to satisfy source reduction and to minimize physical inefficiency.
Most industrial waste is in the form of:
wastewater
Upcycling
process that recycling new products of higher value. Ex: plastic bottles to terratex panels; making something of equal or better value without downgrading the original material or creating more pollution during the process.
What category of materials is the least recycled?
Total plastics are the least recycled (only 6%) because some plastics cannot be recycled.
3 synthetic organic compounds:
1) Plastic Containers 2) Rubber Tires 3) Pesticides and Solvents *also wood preservatives
What are 3 reasons for per capita waste has been increasing worldwide?
1) Plastics came into wide consumer use during the 1970s, and have accounted for the greatest relative increase in the waste stream during the last several decades. 2) An increase in packaging is to blame because most packaging is made of plastic. 3) items that are packaged in plastic are also poor-quality and inexpensive, and made for temporary use; they wear out and pile up quickly in the trash. 4) intensive consumption and the rising levels of material standards of living causes more goods to be produced, therefore more waste is generated as well. More underdeveloped countries produce less waste than other countries because they produce less & have less to begin with.
What are the 4 characteristics of hazardous wastes?
1) ignitable (easily catches fire) 2) corrosive (can corrode metals in storage tanks or equipment) 3) reactive (chemically unstable and readily reactive with other compounds - often explosive and can produce noxious fumes) 4) toxic (harmful to human health when inhaled, ingested, or through contact)
3 heavy metals:
1) lead 2) chromium 3) mercury *also: arsenic, cadmium, tin, and copper
What is the annual per capita waste in the US?
1 ton per person / per year
What are the three main goals of waste management?
1) Minimize the amount go waste we generate (source reduction) 2) Recover waste materials and finding easy to recycle them 3) dispose of waste safely and effectively
What is quickly becoming a major source of hazardous heavy metals?
E-Waste
Example 2 of WTE
EX) Heating water will turn it to steam; steam can turn a turbine which powers a generator to create electricity.
Example 1 of WTE
EX) solid waste burned at extremely high temperatures can be incinerated and used to generate electricity
E-Waste
Electronic Waste - Growing rapidly--over 2 billion electronic devices have been sold in the US since 1980. About half (50%) are still being used or reused, 9% are in storage, and nearly 40% have been disposed of.
Name two European countries that are the most efficient and have the lowest per capita waste production?
GERMANY and SWEDEN, both of which produce just under 0.9 kg per day.
Paint, household cleaners, medical waste, and industrial solvents are all examples of which type of waste?
Hazardous wastes
What produces the largest amount of UNREGULATED Hazardous Wastes?
Household products, such as cleaners, are the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste.
Negatives for Incineration?
Incineration - does not rid trash of components that are toxic; the ash that remains has to be sent to hazardous waste landfills - causes hazardous chemicals--dioxins, heavy metals, and PCBs--to be created and released into the atmosphere, therefore causing a backlash against incineration from citizens that are concerned about health hazards.
Positives for Incineration?
Incineration reduces garbage mass by 70% and its volume (space) by 90%
Love Canal
Know the story of the Love Canal (see notes from class).
MRF
Materials Recovery Facilities are where items collected are sorted by workers and machines, using automated processes, including magnetic pulleys, optical sensors, water currents, and air classifiers that separate items by weight and size.
Until the 1850s, where did NY residents dump its wastes?
New York residents used to dump their wastes off piers into the East river.
How does physical efficiency relate to economical efficiency?
Often it is cheaper for an industry to manufacture its products or perform its services quickly but messily--where economic efficiency is MAXimized, and physical efficiency is MINimized.
What makes up most of municipal wastes?
PAPER (34%) YARD (13%) PLASTIC (11%) or FOOD (also 11%)
What makes up the greatest percent of US waste?
Paper (34%) makes up the greatest percent of US waste.
Why is it better to recycle aluminum?
Recycling Aluminum (i.e. cans) saves 95% of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum (which comes from a mined Bauxite).
Why is recycling not the best solution for reducing the waste stream?
Recycling is not the best solution for reducing the waste stream because it does not eliminate any of garbage; it simply recycles it and puts it back into our system as a material that will eventually be bought as an item and use again before going back into the trash.
Municipal solid waste
Refers to nonliquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses.
Hazardous wastes
Refers to solid AND liquid waste that is toxic, chemically reactive, flammable, or corrosive.
Industrial solid waste
Refers to waste from production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture, and petroleum extraction, and refining.
What is recycled glass used for in Canada?
Reflective paints and signs
RCRA (aka "Cradle to Grave")
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Enacted in 1976 to give EPA "Cradle to Grave" authority on hazardous waste. This let the EPA set standards by which states are to manage hazardous waste.
How to sanitary landfills contain lactate from polluting groundwater?
Sanitary landfills have systems of pipes, collection ponds, and treatment facilities to collect and treat leachate. *Landfill managers are also required to maintain leachate collection systems for 30 years after a landfill ahs closed. *Regulations also require that area groundwater be monitored regularly for contamination.
What has been the change in per capita waste production in the US since the 1990s?
Since the 1990s, the per capita waste production in the US has been relatively stable. This is largely due to the increased popularity of recycling, composting, reducing, and reusing.
Why would someone want to study the waste stream?
Someone would want to study the waste stream if they were aiming to satisfy the goal of source reduction.
what is one measure of efficiency?
The amount of waste generated by a manufacturing process is one measure of its efficiency. the LESS waste produced per unit or volume or product, the MORE efficient that process is, from a physical standpoint.
Waste stream
The flow of waste as it moves from its sources toward disposal destinations.
What is most difficult about the recycling loop?
The most difficult part of the recycling loop is the 3rd step, where consumers buy recycled products. It is important to "close the loop" by purchasing products made from recycled materials because it provides economic incentive for industries to recycle materials and for new recycling facilities to open or existing ones to expand.
"Cradle to Grave" concept
The resource conservation and recovery act was enacted as public law in 1976. The purpose of RCRA is to protect human health and the environment. A secondary goal is to conserve our natural resources. RCRA completes the goal by regulating all aspects of hazardous waste management; generation, storage, treatment and disposal. This concept is referred to as________.
Sanitary landfills
These types of landfills are usually lined with plastic, clay, and other impermeable materials and soils. Waste is buried in layers, and is prevented from contaminated the environment and threatening public health.
Why are heavy metals and synthetic organic compounds hazardous in low concentrations?
They do not decay very fast and remain persistent; they therefore bioaccumulate
Leachate
This is a liquid that results when substances from the trash dissolve in water from the rain.
Why would a company want to do a life cycle analysis?
This is one way a company would be able to become more economically AND physically efficient, so as to reduce industrial waste. Companies and businesses are taking advantage of insights of industrial ecology to reduce waste and lessen their impact on health and the environment, while saving money.
Waste To Energy
WTE is a type of incinerator facility that use the heat of combustion to generate electricity.
How much has waste generation changed since the 1960s?
Waste generation has increased by 2.8 times since the 1960s, mostly due to packaging that is plastics
What is the second-largest component of MSW?
Yard trimmings (13%) is the second-largest MSW, and also the LEAST COMPOSTABLE kind of waste.
What kind of waste is least compostable?
Yard waste is least compostable
Fly Ash
_____ is ash produced in dark flecks, typically from a furnace and carried into the air.
Low-level radioactive waste in the US is sent to:
a site in the Chihuahuan Desert in SE New Mexico
What percent of US residents participate in curbside recycling?
about half (50%) of Americans participate in curbside recycling programs (9,000),
Incineration
also known as combustion, this is a controlled process in which mixed garbage is burned at very high temperatures.
CERCLA
the Comprehensive Encironmental Response Compensation and Liability Act - established a federal program (Superfund), administered by the EPA, to clean up sites polluted with hazardous waste from past activities. CERCLA's objective was to charge the parties responsible for cleanup of their sites (hold them responsible)
Phytoremediation
the direct use of green plants and their associated microorganisms to stabilize/reduce contamination in soils, sludges, sediments, surface water, or ground water.
Source Reduction
the process of preventing waste generation in a way that reduces the amount of material entering the waste stream, avoids the costs of disposal and recycling, helps conserve resources, and minimizes pollution. This can often save consumers and businesses money.
Downcycling
the recycling of a material into a material of lesser quality (like recycling of plastics).
