Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Unit 5: Energy, Minerals, and Metals
Lesson 4: Management and Conservation
Duration: 1 Hour
Students will be able to:
1. Compare and contrast practices for conserving renewable and non-renewable resources.
2. Compare and contrast various methods of disposing solid wastes.
3. Describe the problems involved in disposing of hazardous chemicals.
Activity:
5.4A School Waste Audit: Students will analyze the kind and amount of waste generated in their
school. They will suggest several methods to minimize waste and maximize recycling.
Teaching Outline:
I. Management and Conservation:
A. Mineral Conservation and Recycling:
1. Reducing Demand: possible strategies include cutting back per capita consumption,
decreasing the size of products, and increasing product durability.
a. Consumers can reduce consumption by not making unnecessary purchases and
avoiding disposable items.
b. Manufacturers have a responsibility in designing products that have increased
durability and have an appreciable repeated use potential. Mineral demand can be
significantly reduced by avoiding the production of disposable pens, razors,
diapers, etc.
c. Products could be reduced in size to lower the quantity of materials required per
item. The reduction in size of the home computer and automobile is a good
example.
2. Recycling: the waste material of mineral extraction provides a means of reducing the
depletion of non-renewable resources and minimizing the environmental effects
associated with mineral development. (TM p 19)
a. The rise in oil prices in the near future, the depletion of minerals, shortage of
landfills and increasing environmental/economic concerns will intensify the
resolve to recycle. (TM p 20)
b. A major obstacle to recycling is finding an adequate market for secondary
materials. The federal government provides incentives to the mining industry
which discourages exploration of recycling industry development.
i. The federal government provides billions of dollars I depletion allowances,
tax breaks for mining companies that deplete their reserves. Therefore, virgin
materials are artificially cheap.
ii. Federally mandated freight costs for shipping raw materials are lower by law
than those bound for recycling plants.
c. Individual efforts include reducing the purchase of unnecessary items; recycling
glass, aluminum, waste copper and other metals; avoiding throwaway products;
and choosing recyclable products over non-recyclable products.
4005.16
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
d. Pathways for reducing the environmental impacts of mineral extraction include:
i. The formation of federal legislation that addresses sediment, air and water
pollution from aspects of the mineral cycle. Examples include land
reclamation and restoration.
ii. Controlling off and on-site treatment of mining wastes by good engineering
and conservation practices. Biotechnological processes include bioxidation,
biobleaching, biosorption, and genetically engineered microbes.
iii. Practicing the ‘3-Rs’ of waste management: reduce the amount of waste
produced, reuse or put back into service in the same or a different application,
and maximize recycling opportunities.
B. Waste Management: The old philosophy of ‘dilute and disperse’ management and the
recent concept of ‘concentrate and contain’ is giving way to an ‘integrated’ style of waste
management.
1. Solid Waste Management: is a critical contributor to reducing wasted minerals and
raw materials that can be reused or recycled. In many areas, education about the
environmental dangers of unsanitary dumping, and federally available funds have
reduced the cost of collection and recycling of materials.(TM p 21)
a. Composting: is a waste management option that is carried out in the controlled
environment of mechanical digesters. The product of the mechanical and
chemical process is a soil-like substance that makes an excellent conditioner for
poorly defined soils.
b. Incineration: involves burning combustible waste at temperatures of 900-1000oC
to consume all combustible material, leaving only ash and non-combustibles to
dispose of in a landfill. The positives are that waste volume may be reduced by as
much as 75%-95%. A negative consequence of incineration is air pollution (in the
form of toxic ash). (TM p 22)
c. Sanitary Landfills: confine wastes in the smallest practical area and reduce it to
the smallest practical volume with compacted soil at the end of each day.
Isolating the refuse minimizes the surface water entering and the gas escaping
from the waste. Landfill criteria are listed in the amendments of the Resource
conservation and Recovery Act of 1980 (TM -5.1).
2. Hazard Chemical Waste Management:
a. The environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (1980) defines
policies and procedures for restricting the release of hazardous substances into the
environment CERCLA established a revolving fund to assist in the cleanup of the
worst hazardous waste sites. (TM p 23) Amendments of 1984 and 1986 include:
i. Improving and tightening the standards for disposal and cleanup of hazardous
waste; for example requiring double liners, leachate collection, and
monitoring.
ii. Banning disposal of certain hazardous chemicals, including dioxins,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and most solvents.
iii. Initiating a timetable for phasing out disposal of all untreated liquid hazardous
waste in landfills or surface impoundments.
iv.
Increasing the size of the fund (to 8 billion dollars in 1993).
4005.17
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
4005.18
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Energy Resource Advantages and Disadvantages Handout
Resource
Oil
Natural Gas
Coal
Nuclear
Geothermal
Hydro
Solar
Wind
Biofuels
Synthetic
Fuels
(from coal)
Advantage
Disadvantage















has been cheap
Easy to transport
World has a good supply
Technology well developed
has been cheap
Easy to transport in pipelines,
Low environmental impact
Burns clean
large supply
fairly easy to secure
cheap
easy to transport
fair supply uf uranium
less environmental effect of
mining raw material













cheap construction of facilities
low environmental impact
many untapped sources
probably always available
cheap
technology well developed
long life of facilities
short start up time of power plants
low environmental impact
have lots of it
supply is free
simple technology for home use
safe, low environmental impact














air pollution
oil spills, water pollution
must import 50%
limited supply in U.S.
may have limited supply
costly, difficult to transport overseas
prices rising rapidly
 air pollution: sulfur
 strip mining alters terrain
 underground mining is a health hazard
free
low environmental impact
technology fairly well developed
can utilize waste
good supply of raw materials
easy to transport
close to centers of population
 have large supply of coal
 fairly easy to transport








waste storage problems
presently high cost
social problem (people don’t like it)
need more technology
may not be very safe
only useful in limited areas
some air pollution (mainly sulfur)
need more technology
 useful in limited areas
 best sites already used up
 many high voltage lines required













useful in limited areas
costly in high technology
more technology needed for large
scale units
storage facilities required for night or
cloudy weather
not available everywhere
not available everywhere
storage facilities required
costly
may compete with food
high development cost
need more technology
produces carbon dioxide when burned
 very costly
 need more technology
 environmental impact (air pollution, strip mining)
4005.19
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Waste Recycling
4005.20
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Land Disposal Treatment Method
Precipitation
Evaporation
Evaporation
Land spreading or irrigation
Water supply
Injection well
well
Percolation
Leakage
Landfill, dump or
refuse pile
Surface
waters
Surface
impoundment
Unconfined aquifer
(fresh groundwater)
Water supply
well
Leakage
Confined aquifer (fresh groundwater)
Goundwater movement
Discharge or injection
Confined aquifer
(brackish groundwater)
4005.21
Intentional input
Unententional input
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Solid-Waste System with Monitoring
4005.22
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
High Temperature Incineration System
Secondary combustion chamber 1300 degrees C.
CO2 - H2O air
Burner
1
Rotating
combustion
chamber up to
1000 degrees C.
Scrubber System
Burner
Water
Ash
2
Waste
3
1
2
3
Water
Solid waste dropped in
Sludge waste in plastic barrels
Ash
Liquid waste piped in
Waste, ash, particulates, and
wastewater to be treated or
disposed of in landfill
4005.23
Clean-gas upstack
Forestry and Natural Resources
Unit5: Energy, Minerals and Metals
Hazardous Waste Disposal System
Monitor site
in unsaturated
zone
(leak detector)
Monitor
well
Monitor site in
unsaturated zone
(leak detector)
Leachate drains
Leachate to
wastewater
Compacted clay cap
treatment plant
Leachate
collection
Hazardous
basin
waste
Clay
dike
Impervious liner (clay)
Plastic liners
Water table
Rock
4005.24
Monitor
well