Solid and Hazardous Waste. Any solid unwanted material U.S. produces 11,000,000,000 tons per yr.
Transcript of Solid and Hazardous Waste. Any solid unwanted material U.S. produces 11,000,000,000 tons per yr.
Solid and Hazardous
Waste
• Any solid unwanted material
• U.S. produces 11,000,000,000 tons per yr.
The Solid Waste ProblemThe Solid Waste Problem
• Open dumps
• Ocean Dumping
• Landfills
• Exporting
• Incinerating
Options for Disposal
Open Dump• Common in developing countries,
Illegal in developed countries.• Drop off trash
Dump in Chimalhuacán , Mexico
Kids working in a dump in Tegucigalpa , Honduras
Problems with Open Dumps
• Disease!• Rodent problems
• Groundwater pollution• Organisms eat trash sick
Sanitary Landfills
1) Dig a giant hole2) Line hole with plastic liner3) Place solid waste in hole
4) Cover each day with 6” soil.• Only NEWER ones have lining
(15%)• Possible leakage to
groundwater if liner rips.
• Bacteria break down solid waste methane.
• Pipes suck out methane and is burned to create electricity.
Disposal by Incineration• AKA “Waste-to-Energy”
• Trash is burned heat is used to generate electricity
• 1000 plants in world (110 in US)
Incinerator Problems
• CO, PM, & heavy metals released• Control devices must be installed;
scrubbers/electrostatic precipitators, $$$• Ash produced landfills
Ocean Dumpi
ng
• 55,000,000 lbs of trash are dumped in sea every yr.
• 300,000 lbs of fishing gear.
Pacific Trash Gyre-Urban
Runoff
Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act
• Federal law in U.S. governing the disposal of solid and hazardous
wastes.
• “Cradle to grave” tracking on hazardous materials.
Integrated Waste Management
• Variety of methods to minimize waste (3 R’s= Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle)
Reducing Waste
• Reduce consumption
• Reduce packaging
• Trash taxes
• Photo/biodegradable plastics
• Refillable Bottles • Use fabric bags for groceries• Reuse car parts, motor oil etc.
Reuse
5 cents off/ bag
TJ’s: Bring bags back
25 $ raffle
Corona Factory, Mexico
Recycle• Turning discarded
materials into new materials.
• Pros: reduces virgin resource use, frees up landfill space,
less deforestation,
less habitat loss
• Cons: Expensive for cities to start, trucks create CO2, more expensive
products. Recycling plants create CO2 Global Warming
GIRL ALERT!• M.A.C make-up
• Bring in 6 old M.A.C containers and receive 1 free lip gloss, lipstick, or eye shadow!
Recycled Materials
• Glass bottles
• Aluminum Cans (2/3 are recycled, non-renewable resource)
• Paper
–Low grade
–Requires bleach to de-ink