Chapter 21: Solid and Hazardous

Waste

Do Now

1. Grab two post-its and a notes packet from the back lab table

2. Write down the first two things you think about when you hear the word “waste” on these post-its

3. Put your post-its up on the board when you’re finished!

http://visuwords.com/waste

21.1 Waste• “In nature there is essentially no

waste because the wastes of one organism become nutrients for others.”

• Solid Waste- any waste that is not liquid or gas

• Hazardous Waste- waste that threatens human health or the environment

Every time you throw your trash “away”…

Where does it go?

Solid Waste Types1. Industrial: produced by mines, agriculture, and industries that supply people with goods and services

2. Municipal: produced by homes and workplaces. Paper, cardboard, food, cans, bottles, metals, plastics and e-wastes.

Trash People by H. A. Schulthttps://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=lbdQb0wqb44

Types of Hazardous Waste

• Organic Compounds- solvents, pesticides, etc.

• Toxic Heavy Metals- lead, mercury, arsenic

• Radioactive waste- from power plants. Must be stored for up to 240,000 years!

Developed countries produce 80-90% of hazardous waste…

The U.S. is #1, China #2

Why does all of this matter?

90% of the things we

waste could be reused or

recycled

Instead: crush, mix, burn and

bury these materials

We create air

pollution, water

pollution and

greenhouse gases

The United States

• Produces 1/3 of all solid waste in the world, even though our population is 4.6% of the world’s

• 98.5% of our solid waste is from agriculture, mining and industry

• Other 1.5% is from municipal waste

Municipal Solid Waste

Paper and Cardboard47%

Yard Waste15%

Food Waste14%

Plastic14%

Metals10%

Every year…• 186 Billion pieces of

junk mail are created• Enough tires to circle

around the planet 3 times are thrown away

• The entire state of Delaware could be carpeted

• Enough diapers to travel to the moon and back 7 times are thrown away

• Consumers throw out enough paper to build a wall 3.5 m high from New York to California

Every day• 274 million plastic

shopping bags (3,200 bags per second) are thrown out

• 425,000 cell phones and 132,000 computers are thrown out

Every hour• 2.5 thousand plastic

water bottles are thrown out

Environmental ads

21.2 How do we handle this waste problem?

• Waste management-ways of reducing the environmental impact of MSW without trying to actively reduce the amount produced

• Waste reduction-less waste and pollution are produced (preventative)

In waste reduction:The wastes that are produced are viewed

as resources to be reused, recycled or composted

• Record all of the solid waste you make during a week

• For extra credit: carry a bag of all of the solid waste you make with you for three days!

Personal Solid Waste InventoryDUE:

Monday, November 23

• Great pacific Garbage Patch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znWKqsJ0Rg4

• Sports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpQx2TdOW38 • Macklemore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STH9ZpeFH2o • Finding Dory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JNLwlcPBPI

Extra videos:

Do Now

• Write down one example of a waste item that takes a long time to decompose.

• Have you ever seen the movie Wall-E? Take a guess at the plot from this picture.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BQPV-iCkU (humans)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHH3iSeDBLo (earth)

Zero Waste Girl

What is the best method?

• A combination of waste reduction and management

Currently in the U.S.:• 54% MSW is

buried• 25% recycled• 14% burned• 7% composted

But…what can we do?

“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…and

Rethink”

• The Plastiki• http://theplastiki.com/ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Kbu4Z

VTzw

1. Redesign manufacturing process and products

2. Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, remake, compost, or recycle

3. Eliminate or reduce packaging

1. Use a fee-per-bag waste system

2. Require companies to take back consumer products

3. Restructure urban transportation systems.

What can companies and communities

do?

• Waste reduction strategy • Decreases matter and energy

required• Decreases pollution• Creates local jobs

• Saves money

Reusing

What we often don’t think about…

• In developing countries, the lower class often hunt through garbage for reusable items to sell

• Items are usually exposed to toxins and diseases

• European Union requires that 95% of a damaged car be reused

• Support flea markets & second-hand clothing stores

• www.freecycle.org A site where neighbors are giving away household items for FREE!

How we can reuse more:

• Write down 2 ways that we could work to reuse more items

• Name one problem with landfills

Do Now

Graffiti!

• They are running out of places to put waste

• Common Myth: A landfill in New York (Fresh Kills Landfill) can be seen from space.

• Landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in the U.S.

Some facts about landfills

Landfill Design Lab

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsyg472MQp8

• Get into groups (or you can work on your own) and design a landfill on a poster that would be an improvement over a modern landfill

• Get as creative as you would like, but back up your design with evidence from 2 online sources

• Make a works cited with these two sources

Do Now• Think about

reasons why companies use plastic to package their materials

• There are three different possible paths in the “life cycle” of a plastic bottle. Write down a guess for what these three pathways are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xlNyWPpB8

Why do companies use plastic?

• Glass bottles=reusable but more expensive to manufacture

• Plastic is the cheap alternative

• Big companies make more money producing and shipping plastic bottles that are just thrown away

• These companies have used their political power to keep the U.S. from passing bottle laws that would require the companies to take back any bottle

• Denmark and Finland have banned all bottles that cannot be reused

• Why hasn’t the U.S.?

Other countries stance on plastic:

What about plastic bags?

• Reusable bags can be used instead of paper or plastic

• In Ireland a tax of 25 cents per bag has been implemented. This has caused bag litter to be cut by 90%!

• The plastic industry has mounted a successful campaign against this tax

• http://www.shiftdesign.org.uk/products/im-not-a-plastic-bag/

• Primary or closed-loop recycling: Turning an item back into the same item.

• Secondary recycling: Materials are converted into different products.

2 Types of Recycling

Pre-consumer or internal waste• Generated when

products are produced

Post-consumer or external waste• Generated by the

consumers using the product

Consumer waste types:

• The U.S. recycles 25% of MSW• Japan and Switzerland recycle about

50%

Around the World

We do recycle…• 56% of our

aluminum cans• 56% of our paper• 36% of our tires• 22% of our glass• 5% of our plasticsWith education, experts predict that all levels could be up to 70%!!

• Send the mixed urban wastes to materials-recovery facilities. Valuable material is separated out of the waste and the rest gets recycled or burned to produce steam power.

• CON: Expensive and produce toxic ash. Need a constant flow of garbage to make a profit so they actually promote garbage production.

One way to recycle

:

What is a better option?

• Have people sort their own trash at home, it would cost much less and produce less pollution.

• In some areas, homeowners are charged a fee per bag of trash. This has increased recycling up to 85% in these areas!

FACT or FIB?

Do Now

• Grab a laptop from the cart and log in• Go to the Kahoot website (www.kahoot.it

) and wait for me to show you the game pin

Dear Future Generations: Sorryhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLJscAlk1M

• Food scraps• Yard

trimmings• Other

organic wastes

What can you

compost?

• Composting: decomposers recycle wastes, which can then be added to the soil to supply nutrients, slow soil erosion, retain water, and improve crop yield.

• Over 6 million homes in the U.S. compost and the number is rising.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1kIpCBD3UI

RECYCLING

Good: Reduces air and water

pollution Saves energy Reduces greenhouse

emissions Reduces solid waste

production and disposal Save landfill space Important part of economy

Bad: More expensive May lose money for items

like glass and some plastics Reduces profits for landfill

and incinerator owners Source separation is

inconvenient

How can we encourage recycling??

• There are tax breaks for resource-extracting companies. We could give breaks to those companies that recycle instead!

• The price paid for recycled goods changes often. We could stick to one price.

• Encourage fee-per-bag system.• Require companies to take back

recycled items.

Burning• We burn 16% of total MSW• Decreases the amount of waste, but emits

harmful pollutants (CO2, carbon monoxide, mercury)

• To make $, incinerators must burn large amounts of waste daily

Burying (in landfills)

There are two types of landfills:

1.Open dumps-fields or holes in the ground where garbage is deposited and sometimes burned. Rare in developed countries.

2.Sanitary landfills- solid waste spread in thin layers, compacted, and covered daily with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam. This layer keeps the trash dry and stops leaks.

Advantages & Disadvantages to Burying

• No burning required

• Built quickly• Cheap

• Filled land can be reused

• Releases Greenhouse gases

• Slow decomposition• Leaks

• Encourages waste production

Last Day to Work on Landfill

Designs!!!

Do Now• Would you use any of

these upcycled materials in your home?

• Why is it better that these items get reused instead of ending up in a landfill?

Landfill Design Gallery Walk

FIRST: Collect & Detoxify by1.Physical methods- Distilling or using charcoal2.Chemical methods- Add chemicals to remove toxins3.Nanomagnets- Attract oil to remove it from water.4.Biological methods- Release bacteria and/or enzymes5.Phytoremediation- Plants absorb, filter and remove

contaminants6.Plasma arc torch- Uses plasma to burn the hazardous waste

Dealing with hazardous waste

Storing hazardous waste is the most common “solution”

• Deep well disposal- Liquid hazardous waste is piped down underground below drinking waters. These sites are limited and often the waste ends up in drinking water anyway.

• Surface impoundments- liquid hazardous wastes are poured into ponds that have a liner. EPS studies have shown that 70% of these in the US have no liner and 90% threaten drinking water.

• People must reduce the overall amount of waste they produce

• “Not in my Backyard” mentality “Not in Anyone’s Backyard!”

To be a low-waste society:

• Everyone is entitled to protection from environmental hazards.

• Most polluting factories, hazardous waste dumps, incinerators and landfills are located in communities populated by minorities.

• The environmental justice movement: Pressures the government to act to prevent and stop injustice.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Cancer Alley, Louisiana

• http://canceralleyvacation.weebly.com/where-did-the-cancer-alley-nickname-derive-from.html

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCYryQpOn1o

• For decades, developed countries had been shipping hazardous wastes to developing countries

• In 1989 UNEP developed a treaty known as the Basel Convention.

• It banned this activity without permission from the developing country.

• By 2008 152 countries had ratified this treaty EXCEPT for Haiti, Afghanistan, and the US.

Treaties

Persistent Organic Pollutants

• In 2000, delegates from 122 countries completed a treaty to control 12 persistent organic pollutants.

• They are insoluble in water and soluble in fat. This means that they can accumulate in the fatty tissue of humans and animals.

• A study showed that EVERY person on earth has detectable levels of these POPs. Health effects are unknown. The US has not ratified this treaty.

• Everything is connected• There is no “away” in

throwing something away• Landfills are not the perfect

solution• The BEST and CHEAPEST

way to deal with waste is to PREVENT it!!

TO SUMMARIZE IT ALL:

While reading the article:1. Quotes/Information side: write interesting quotes or

information in the left column2. Reactions side: write your thoughts about each

Quote/Information in the right column

ARTICLE STRATEGY

Homework:

Homework: Finish this article using the chart. Also, remember about:• Monday your Waste Inventories are due (Make sure to do the

Questions)• Tuesday is your Quiz on Solid and Hazardous Waste• Wednesday the Upcycling/Recycling Projects are due

Do Now• Review your

notes for a few minutes until everyone arrives

• Put your landfills on the lab tables

• REVIEW GAME!• Reminder: Quiz

tomorrow on Solid & Hazardous Waste

QUIZ DAY• Take ten minutes to review your

notes and ask any last minute questions you have

• Good luck!! I know all of you can do it

• When you’re done hand in your quiz at the front desk and take a student survey to fill out

Ending Quote 1

Write on your index card your thoughts about this quote

Ending Quote 2

“Humanity; the most intelligent species on the planet, capable of anything, but is governed by its aggression and youth. A species fast in developing, but slow in maturing.

Once a species that cared about its home, its provider, let its ego dominate its decisions. A period of ignorance and neglect has had profound effects across the world. Effects which can be reversed, if nature is given the time to repair the damage.

Remember: We only have one home.”

Write on your index card your thoughts about this quote

Ending Quote 3

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Ending Quote 4

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Ending Quote 5

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Ending Quote 6

Write on your index card your thoughts about these pictures

Ending Quote 7

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