Solid and Hazardous Waste

Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded material we produce that is not a liquid or gas.

Municipal solid waste (MSW): produced directly by homes and workplacesCalled garbage or trash

Industrial solid waste: produced indirectly by industries that supply people with goods and services

We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful Things and Hazardous

Materials

The United States produces about 1/3 of the world’s solid waste and buries more than half of it in landfills.About 98.5% is industrial solid waste.The remaining 1.5% is MSW.

About 55% of U.S. MSW is dumped into landfills, 30% is recycled or composted, and 15% is burned in incinerators.

Solid Waste in the United States

Source: http://www.epa.gov/msw/facts.htm

Solid Waste in the United States

Integrated Waste Management

Integrated Waste Management: Priorities for Dealing with

Solid Waste

It is always best to prevent the production of waste than to deal with it once it has been created.

1st Priority – prevent waste generation 2nd Priority – reuse, recycle, compost materials

Last priority – deal with the waste generated

Dealing with WasteWaste management: high waste approach

Manages inevitable waste to reduce environmental harm

Bury it, burn it, ship it off

Waste and pollution prevention: low waste approachLook at waste as potential resourcesWaste is harmful and we shouldn’t use it in the first place

Waste Hierarchy

1. Prevention/ReductionKey to managing our waste = not wasting as much in the first place!

2. ReuseDoes not require reprocessing, less energy intensive than recycling

Reuse strategies: donations to charities, reusing packaging, containers

Refilling and reusing containers uses fewer resources and less energy, produces less waste, saves money, and creates jobs.In Denmark and Canada’s Price Edward’s Island there is a ban on all beverage containers that cannot be reused.

In Finland 95% of soft drink and alcoholic beverages are refillable (Germany 75%).

Case Study:Use of Refillable Containers

We can use reusable shopping bags, food containers, shipping pallets, rechargeable batteries, and borrowing tools.Many countries in Europe and Asia charge shoppers for plastic bags.

Case Study:Use of Refillable Containers

3. RecycleSaves natural resources and creates jobs

Saves landfill space, incineration

Prevents environmental damage from mining, logging

May save energy (if recycled materials use less energy to produce)

Primary or closed loop recycling: materials are turned into new products of the same type.Making paper with recycled paper, or new glass

bottles out of used glass bottles

Secondary recycling: materials are converted into different products.Shredded tires used to resurface tracksPop bottles can be turned into

playground equipment or car seats

There Are Two Types of Recycling

3. RecyclePaper!

Americans use 50 million tons of paper in a year (= 850 million trees)

40% of waste stream is paper. Paper is the major component of landfills

Making recycled paper uses less energy than virgin paper

3. RecycleAluminum

Many Al cans today are made with recycled Al

Mining bauxite is very damaging to the local environment

Aluminum does not degrade and aluminum is nonrenewable

3. RecycleGlass

does not wear out – it can be recycled indefinitely

States with a bottle bill have cut litter by 35-40%

3. RecycleProblems!Infrastructure for collection, storage and transport facilities

Compliance, oppositionManufacturers and market for recycled products

ContaminationCosts