Chapter 16: Waste Management

Big Question: Is Zero Waste Possible?

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Municipal Solid Waste

Paper comprises 35%.

Single largest item is newsprint.

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Early Concepts of Waste Disposal

•Dilution and dispersion•Concentration and containment•Problem of limited space for landfills, and their high

cost•NIMBY

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Modern Trends

•Zero-waste and the principal of industrial ecology•Turn waste into a resource rather than a pollutant•Use taxes as an incentive?

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Integrated Waste Management

•Reduce •Reuse•Recycle

80-90% of US waste stream could be recovered by

recycling

Important to develop markets for recycled products.

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Materials Management

Recycling alone can’t do the whole job. Conserve

materials by:• Eliminating subsidies for virgin materials;• “Green building” incentives for new construction;• Financial penalties for negative practices; and• Increase number of new jobs in technology of

resource reuse and reduction.

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Solid Waste Management

Problems include illegal dumping and hazardous waste

in landfills.

On-site disposal by• Kitchen garbage disposal units• Composting of kitchen and garden waste• Incineration

Incineration reduces volume of waste and may generate

electrical power.

But may cause air pollution and generate toxic ash.

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Open Dumps

Still in use, primarily in developing countries

Generate a nuisance: pests, health hazard, air and water

pollution.

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Municipal Solid Waste

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Modern Landfills

Modern landfills incorporate multiple barriers to

leachate and gas.

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Hazardous Waste

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Hazardous-Waste Legislation

•Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of

1976•What qualifies as “hazardous”?•Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980

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Hazardous-WasteManagement: Land Disposal

Secure landfills are designed to confine waste and

leachate. Some argue that there is no such thing as a

really secure landfill.

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Land Application: Microbial Breakdown•Applying waste materials to near-surface soil may be

an efficient way to treat certain biodegradable

industrial waste.•Importance of biopersistence.•When biodegradable waste is added to the soil, it is

attacked by microflora.

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Surface Impoundment

•A controversial way to store or dispose of hazardous

waste.•Surface impoundments are prone to seepage.

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Deep-Well Disposal

Another controversial method involves injecting waste

into deep wells below all freshwater aquifers.

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Land Disposal and Treatment

Land disposal and treatment of hazardous waste may

contaminate the environment.

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Alternatives to Land Disposalof Hazardous WasteA combination of source reduction, recycling and

resource recovery, treatment, and incineration:

- Reclaim/reuse useful chemicals

- Treatment to reduce toxicity

- Reduce the volume of waste items

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Pollution Prevention

The early emphasis was on waste disposal.

Prevention is the growing emphasis:• purchasing the proper amount of raw materials;• exercising better control of manufacturing

materials;• substituting nontoxic chemicals; and• improving engineering and design of

manufacturing

Chapter 16: Waste Management

Questions? E-mail your TA. eschelp@uw.edu