Most common = least desirable
USA makes 33% world's waste
The three R's: reduce reuse recycle
Ocean Dumps
illegal in US
55 million lbs/yr of packaging are dumped into ocean
330 million lbs/yr of fishing gear lost or discarded
deadly to marine life (ex. seals)
Landfills
fate of most municipal solid waste
Paper is most common in landfill
trash buried within impermeable lining (clay, plastic) to prevent leaching
controls pollution of aquifer (oil, chemical compounds, toxic metals, contaminated rainwater)
methane gas burned for energy
Once very effective, landfills are now expensive land hogs- $1 billion/hectare
many aquifers already toxic from leaks
Natural Hydrogeologic Setting-
New landfills must now be set on stable, impermeable bedrock, away from streams rivers lakes etc.
Must include Leachate Collection System - contaminated fluids seep to bottom of landfill where they are collected by complex drainage pipes
Exporting
Often sent to poor, un-educated communities or countries ex. American Indians
Bet Trang plastics calamity- $3 million bribe for dumping toxic waste in Cambodia
"garbage imperialism" and NIMBY
Incineration
volume of waste reduced 90%
45,000 tons/day burned in US
energy production as by product- stream or electricity
expensive to build and operate
high levels of toxins in smoke & ash
ex. dioxins, mercury, lead, cadmium, PVC
Need to remove batteries and plastics first for cleaner burn but expensive
Mass burn- throw everything in smaller than Volkswagen. Dirty air
Reduction and Reuse
- reduce- is minimizing the amount of waste to begin with. Don’t buy it!
- reuse is simply reusing an item (Tupperware and cloth shopping bags)
- recycling is reprocessing discarded materials (glass, aluminum)
Recycling - ITS A GOOD THING
glasses to glasses, rust to rust
bottles may be reforged as bottles
tires may be turned into roadways or sandals!
benefits include more efficient use of non-renewable resources
- cheaper method of waste disposal
- less air and water pollution
- cuts waste volume in landfill
Alternatives to Household Chemicals
Use garlic and ginger for an insecticide
Vinegar or citrus oil make solvent for cleaning counters, etc. (but not both at the same time!)
Long Term Storage
It has to go somewhere
non bio-degradables
- permanent retrievable storage vs. non-retrievable storage
EPA ranks best strategy for Municipal Solid Waste
1. Source reduction (including reuse)
2. Recycling and composting
3. Incineration
4. Landfilling
Hazardous and Toxic Waste
Hazardous waste if any waste that poses a danger to human health. It could be corrosive, ignitable, reactive or toxic.
The fate of hazardous waste
- Recycled
- Converted to less hazardous form
- Bioremediated ex. Brassica (broccoli family) absorbs Fe
- Placed in permanent storage- deep well injection-agh! or surface impoundment- the creation of shallow pools from which the hazardous liquid evaporates.
or the hazardous/toxic wastes could be “temporarily” located in
- Brownfields- polluted properties that have been abandoned because of real or suspected contamination
- Superfund Sites- highly polluted waste site that is (hopefully) undergoing rapid containment, cleanup and remediation. Money for clean up comes from a Superfund which is funded by the federal government (our taxes) and a tax on the producers of toxic or hazardous waste. IF responsible parties can be identified they will be held responsible for the cleaning up cost.
Long-term storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is a controversial topic because of NIMBY and that fact that the mountain has two active fault lines and is above a huge aquifer. So the short-term storage of the nuclear waste is at the nuclear power plants in huge pools or giant land “coffins”. High-level nuclear waste is the high level of ionizing radiation that is created at uranium mines, manufacture of nuclear weapons, and the waste from spent nuclear fuel. Low-level waste is waste from industrial or research industries like clothing, needles, animal carcasses and stuff.
Laws to Know
1. Ocean Dumping Ban Act: bans ocean dumping of sewage sludge & industrial waste
2. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA): Otherwise known as the Superfund Act- calls for a rapid cleanup of abandoned dumpsites containing toxic waste.
3. National Priorities List (NPL)- lists sites most in need of immediate cleanup. but many have yet to be contained
4. Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act (SMCRA): requires coal strip mines to reclaim the land after they are finished mining. Money is put aside in escrow for clean up BEFORE mining begins.
5. Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA): requires generators, shippers and disposers of hazardous waste to keep accurate accounts of the management of the waste from the “cradle to grave”.
