Garbage

We throw away…• Enough aluminum to rebuild the country’s

commercial airline fleet every 3 months• Enough tires each year to encircle the

planet 3 times• Enough disposable diapers each year that

if they were linked end to end, they would reach to the moon and back 7 times

• 2 billion disposable razors, 130 million cell phones, 50 million computers, 8 million TV sets each year

• Discarded carpet that would cover the state of Delaware

• About 2.5 million non-returnable plastic bottles every hour

• About 1.5 billion pounds of edible food per year

• Enough office paper each year to build a wall 11 feet high across the country from New York to San Francisco

• 186 billion pieces of junk mail (an average of 660 per American) each year

Solid Waste• Solid Waste:

– Any discarded solid material

• The Problem of Waste:– There is not enough space to store garbage

LOCALLY– Original Plan of “dilute & disperse” no longer

works: wastes are more harmful; no longer all animal and vegetable (organic) matter

Types of Wastes • Biodegradable

– Can be broken down by biological processes– Paper, cotton, leather, etc.

• Non-biodegradable– Cannot be broken down by biological

processes– Plastic, polyester, rubber, etc.

• Municipal Solid Wastes– From homes and businesses (2%)

• Manufacturing, mining, and agricultural wastes– Sludge, ash, rocks and minerals, animal

wastes (98%)

Waste Management: Landfills

Landfill Design• Groundwater Protection

– Clay and polyethylene liners and leachate collection

• Surface Water Runoff– Collection ponds and water treatment

• Methane Venting– Pipes vent methane to the surface (some burn as

fuel)

• Air Pollution Control– Cells of trash are covered daily with packed soil

• Habitat Protection: survey prior to construction• Long Term Site Care

– Plastic cap, soil and vegetation, 30 yrs of monitoring

Landfill Regulations• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

(1976)– Landfills must safeguard groundwater, surface

water, air quality and local ecosystem– Despite regulations, many landfills have pollution

problems– Most residents do not want landfills near their

homes

Waste Management: Incinerators• Waste incinerators: burn garbage

– Must dispose of ash (to landfill); less volume more toxic

– Air pollution problems– May generate electricity with heat from fires

Minimizing Waste: Source Reduction

• Source Reduction– Changes in design or use to reduce toxicity of

garbage

• Reduce (buy less)– Buy products with less packaging– Use dish towels instead of paper towels, etc.

• Re-use (use product again)– Re-usable shopping bags, or use the plastic

bag again

Minimizing Waste: Recycling• Recycling

– Waste materials are turned into a new product– Post consumer recycled products need a

market!

• Composting– Decompose organic wastes into organic

feritlizer

Minimizing Waste: Alternative Materials

• Cradle-to-cradle design– design products to be re-used or recycled

(single-input products are more easily recycled)

– Design biodegradable versions of hazardous products (biodegradable plastics)

Hazardous Waste

Any solid/liquid material that is toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive enough to explode or

release toxic fumes

Hazardous Waste Regulation• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976)

– Requires records of hazardous waste handling & disposal

– Requires safeguards for disposal facilities

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund, 1980)– Owners of hazardous waste sites may be sued for

illegal dumping; forced to pay for cleanup

Hazardous Waste Management• Prevention (redesign the process or product)• Conversion into non-hazardous substances

(neutralize an acid with a base, use a chem rxn)

• Deep-well injection (below groundwater)• Surface impoundments (lined ponds)• Hazardous Waste Landfills (buried barrels)• Biological treatment (organisms consume

wastes)• Incineration (burning)• Exportation (to other states, or internationally)

Household Hazardous Wastes

• Include motor oil, paints, batteries, computers, cell phones, pesticides, fertilizers, cleaning products, and antifreeze

• Local governments sponsor household materials collection days (see www.westchestergov.com)