CE 527 Solid Waste Management
Lecture 1
Dr. S.K. Ong
Legislation
 First known ordinance on refuse was adopted by the corporation of Georgetown in 1795:
- prohibited the extended storage of refuse on private property or the dumping of refuse on the street
- refuse was removed by carters that clean the streets and alleys periodically
- in 1856, refuse was collected at public expense
 The first incinerators were constructed in Allegheny, PA and Governor's Island, NY in 1885
 To illustrate the magnitude of the solid waste management problem
- in 1900 in Manhattan alone, average daily household garbage was 612 tons with a max of 1100 tons per
day. Livestocks were a major contributor to the waste loads: for example in Chicago (in 1980s) there were
82,000 horses, cows and mules contributing 600,000 tons of manure annually.
 Earliest Federal law addressing solid waste issue - the 1899 River and Harbors Act
- gave authority to the Corps of Engineers to regulate the dumping of debris in navigable waters and
adjacent lands.
- the act was designed to control discharge of materials that interfered with shipping and had little or no
impact on the quality of the environment as long as the refuse was not interfering with shipping
 First legislation that specifically recognized the role of solid waste in environmental degradation was the
1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA).
- the SDWA was an amendment to the 1963 Clean Air Act (CAA) as a result of a 1964 Congressional
subcommittee investigation on air pollution problems. It was found that the disposal of solid waste in open
burning dumps was a major contributor to air pollution. Note that problems with dumping of waste were
not an issue but rather air pollution problem associated with solid waste disposal.
 Highlights of the SWDA include:
- demonstration, construction and application of solid waste management that preserve and enhance the
quality of air, water and land resources.
- a national research program was established to find and improve methods of disposal on a national scale
(not much information was available at that time on the quantity and characteristics of the solid waste).
- based on studies, it became apparent that large quantities of waste materials were generated, estimated at
125 million tons per year in 1966.
- analysis of the composition of solid waste indicated that it was potentially a valuable resource and that
paper, glass, etc. had the potential for recovery and reuse.
- this consequently led to the next piece of legislation emphasizing Resource Recovery.
 SWDA of 1965 was amended by the Resource Recovery Act (RRA) of 1970.
- emphasis of solid waste management program shifted from disposal to recycling and reuse of recoverable
materials
- included several provisions for demonstration of new technology for energy and materials recovery, with
Federal funding up to 75% of the total costs.
- the act also recognized the serious problem of toxic and hazardous materials and wastes management and
efforts were expended to bring the hazardous waste problem under control and to regulate the
indiscriminate dumping of hazardous waste along with regular non hazardous waste.
 The RRA was amended in 1976 by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
- provides regulation for the definition of hazardous waste and the separation of hazardous waste from
nonhazardous waste
- provides the legal basis for implementation of guidelines and standards for solid waste storage, treatment
and disposal facilities
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- was designed to develop and encourage environmentally sound methods for the disposal of solid waste
and which maximize the utilization of valuable resources and to encourage conservation
- authority for the management of solid waste was delegated to state authorities
Subtitles of RCRA
Subtitle
A
B
C
D
E
Subject
Section Public Law
General Provisions
1001 - 1008
Office of Solid Waste
2001 - 2006
Hazardous Waste Management
3001 - 3011
Solid Waste Management
4001 - 4009
Duties of the Sec. of Commerce in
Resource Recovery
5001 - 5004
F
Federal Responsibilities
6001 - 6004
G
Miscellaneous Provisions
7001 - 7009
H
Information
8001 - 8007
I
Underground Storage Tanks
J
Medical Waste
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Of interest for this course is Subtitle D of RCRA - Solid Waste Management
Essential Elements of Subtitle D
- authority was delegated to the states. The state must provide a plan identifying the responsibilities of the
state, regional and local authorities relative to the distribution of federal funding among them and the
means for coordination and implementation of regional planning.
- the plan must prohibit the establishment of new open dumps within the state and require all solid waste to
be processed for recovery or be disposed of in sanitary landfills or in some other environmentally sound
manner.
- the plan must provide for the closing or upgrading of all existing open dumps according to a predefined
timetable.
- the plan must provide for whatever regulatory powers the state may need to carry out the plan.
- the plan must permit local government to enter into long-term contracts for the supply of solid waste to
resource recovery facilities.
- must provide for whatever waste management practices - resource recovery, sanitary landfill - for use and
disposal of solid waste in an environmentally sound manner. Note that EPA sets the minimum rules and
regulations for disposal facilities such as sanitary landfills and incinerators.
RCRA amended in 1980, 1984 and 1988. The 1984 amendment is called the Hazardous and Solid Waste
Amendment (HSWA).
- essentially provided more stringent regulations for landfill disposal facilities
- require liners and leachate collection system
- groundwater and gas monitoring
- set up performance standards for closure and post closure
- corrective action for known releases
- allows the states to establish a permit or prior approval program for facilities receiving small
amounts of HW, eg., household HW or from a small quantity generator
Other Legislation That Have Impact on Solid Waste Management
Clean Water Act (CWA), 1987
- affects waste disposal facilities generating ash, quench water, landfill leachate, surface water discharges
- if discharged into sewers, require pretreatment before wastewater treatment facilities can accept
wastewater
- surface water discharges, require NPDES permit (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System)
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Safe Drinking Water Act, 1977
- protection of well head areas as defined by the Act , may affect the location of waste disposal facilities
Clean Air Act, 1990
- combustion facilities must meet source performance standards by using Best Available Control
Technology (BACT)
- odor from composting facilities
Public Utilities Regulatory and Policy Act, 1981
- require investor-owned utilities to purchase electrical power from small generators such as MSW wasteto-energy facilities at rates established by State Boards or Commission of Public Utilities by guaranteering
a market and fair price for energy produced, thereby controlling project risk.
- willingness of utilities to purchase electricity and established rates vary from state to state
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 1980 (Superfund)
- enacted to respond directly to uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites (active or closed), many are
municipal landfills
- concerns here are potential long term cleanup liability in operating landfills
- if HW is known to be disposed in the landfill, owner of landfill will be responsible for the cleanup of
contaminated areas under CERCLA
Underlying all these legislation, US EPA has adopted an Integrated Waste Management Hierarchy
From most desirable to least desirable
SOURCE REDUCTION
-designed to reduce both toxic constituents in products and quantities of waste
generated
- front end management approach that may occur through the design and
manufacture of products and packaging with minimum volume and toxic content
RECYCLING
- use or reuse of a waste as an effective substitute for a commercial product or as
an ingredient or feedstock in an industrial process
- includes reclamation of useful constituent fraction within a waste material
TREATMENT
- process which changes the physical-chemical or biological character of any
waste so as to recover energy or material resources
DISPOSAL
- discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, placing waste into or on any
land or water
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Aug. 28, 2001