Chapter 23 Solid & Hazardous Waste

Waste = Food

Pollution Prevention Act 1990Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.

Under this initiative, EPA focuses on an industry-by-industry approach rather than a pollutant-by-pollutant approach to regulatory policy.

The Three R’s

Three goals:

1) Reduce

2) Reuse

3) Recycle

Bottle Bills

Michigan 10cents vs 5 cents = Fraud an Smuggling!97% recycling rate on all beverage containers!

The Problem of Tires

• Crumb Recycling

• Incineration

• Retreads

• Low Grade Rubber

Those Numbers

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5 Plastic Gyres

Microplastics

Solid Waste

Types of Solid Waste

Solid Waste

Disposal of Solid Waste

Sanitary Landfills

Problems Associated with Sanitary Landfills

1. Methane gas production

2. Surface & Ground water contamination

3. Traffic

4. Even when closed, considerable cost

Mass Burn Incinerator

http://www.ecomaine.org/electricgen/index.shtm

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/science/earth/13trash.html?pagewanted=all

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Industrial Composting

Integrated Waste Management

E-Waste

1999 average lifespan of a computer 4-6 years.

2005 it dropped to less than 2 years.

Personal computers contain toxic heavy metals such as barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, zinc, nickel and lead.

All regulated by the EPA.

Super Fund 198020081255 - Sites Listed332 - Delisted63 New sites proposed

20021234 Sites Listed259 Delisted

20141319 Sites Listed375 Delisted53 New sites proposed

Superfund = abandoned hazardous sites1. A response to “The Love Canal”2. Where does the money come from? – Tax expired 1995• 70% parties responsible pay cleanup

• Those who own the site now and before• Those who transported to the site

• 30% paid for by a tax on polluting companies and or state and federal funds

• 21 years / 400 million

Love Canal Part Onehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKIM9sE0t6I&feature=related

Part Twohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXSE9kcBQCI&feature=related

Georgiahttp://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/index.htm#GA