Waste Disposal in Saint Paul, Minnesota
Megan Linn
Section 1. Introduction to Waste Disposal in Saint Paul & Community Features
Ramsey County, Minnesota has a long-standing tradition of allowing private
garbage haulers to contract with individual households and commercial businesses for
waste disposal. (Ramsey County, 2011) Although some cities in Ramsey County do
provide waste disposal, those that don’t include Arden Hills, Gem Lake, Falcon Heights,
Lauderdale, Maplewood, Mounds View, North Oaks, Roseville, Saint Anthony, Saint
Paul, and Shoreview. While this model does support small businesses, it is not a very
efficient approach to waste disposal. There are currently 17 individual companies that
provide service in the city. (see Appendix A for a list of the refuse collection service
companies in Saint Paul)
Once garbage, or municipal solid waste (MSW) is collected from the home or
business, it is hauled to weigh stations at transfer stations, landfills or resource recovery
facilities, depending on the company. (Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 2011)
Transfer stations are places where garbage trucks go to unload and consolidate garbage.
Here garbage is pushed by a front-end loader or bulldozer into the top of a trailer to haul
away. Nineteen percent of the county’s waste that ultimately winds up in landfills, either
directly from the hauler, or via a transfer station.
At resource recovery facilities, MSW is also unloaded and pushed onto a
conveyor and put through a series of shredders and sorters, through which recyclable
materials are separated out, and the remained is made easier to handle. The sorted
garbage then is hauled to power plants, known as waste-to-energy plants, where it is fed
into a combustion chamber to be burned. The heat released from the burning produces
steam, which turns a steam turbine to create electricity. (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 2010) ). (see Appendix B for a diagram of a waste-to-energy plant) The resource
recovery facility for Ramsey County is the Washington Resource Recovery Facility,
located in Newport, Minnesota. According to the Ramsey County Public health
Department, 32 percent of the county’s garbage was converted to electricity in 2010.
(Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 2011)
Forty-nine percent of the county’s MSW was recycled. According to the EPA,
although reduction of waste production in the first place is the best waste management
strategy, recycling is the preferred method of waste disposal, over any other method.
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010)
Section 2. Evidence of a Problem: Potential Health Threats
With the lack of uniformity seen in garbage collection in Saint Paul and its
neighbors, there are two problems at play. First are the redundant routes that each
company must take. A single block may have a different company collecting trash from
its residents each day of the week, leading to redundancy in routes and unnecessary
excess fuel usage. This ultimately results in higher emissions and poorer air quality.
A second, and larger factor at play is the use of waste-to-energy plants. While the
EPA has put strict standards on the emissions from these plants, they still pose a
significant threat to the environment and to human health. (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 2010) Burning MSW produces nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide,
precursors to acid rain and atmospheric particulate matter (PM). It also produces trace
amounts of dioxins, highly toxic chemicals that can cause reproductive and
developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also
cause cancer, and mercury compounds, which eventually settles into water where it
accumulates in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish and has been found to harm the
brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system of people of all ages. (World Health
Organization, 2010) (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010) They also emit a
significant amount of carbon dioxide, most concerning when derived from products like
plastics and other fossil fuel based products, who’s carbon dioxide has not bee a part of
the Earth’s atmosphere in millions or billions of years. It should be noted that some of
the carbon dioxide produced is considered to be park of the Earth’s natural carbon cycle,
as it comes from trees and plants that make up paper and food. According to the EPA,
“The average air emission rates in the United States from municipal solid waste-fired
generation are: 3685 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide, (it is estimated that the fossil fuelderived portion of carbon dioxide emissions represent approximately one-half of the total
carbon emissions) 1.2 lbs/MWh of sulfur dioxide, and 6.7 lbs/MWh of nitrogen oxides.”
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010)
Waste-to energy plants also tax the environment other ways, including water use,
water discharges, and solid waste generation. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
2010) Similar to traditional power plants, waste-to-energy plants require water to
operate. This water is derived from lakes and rivers, which can ultimately harm aquatic
life and consequently, the animals and people that depend on these resources. Waste-toenergy plants also discharge waste-water, which is warmer than it was at intake, and
contains pollutants. This, too, can negatively impact aquatic life. Finally, combustion of
MSW produces ash, which can be hazardous or non-hazardous. The ash is tested and
monitored by the EPA to determine proper disposal.
Section 3. Routes of Exposure
The primary routes of exposure for Saint Paul’s waste disposal problem are
inhalation and ingestion. The unnecessary emissions from redundant garbage truck
traffic result in increased particulate matter that is drawn in with every breath. Nitrogen
oxides and sulfur dioxide from waste-to-energy plants also form fine particles that can
also be inhaled. Dioxins and mercury compounds from the energy plants, on the other
hand, accumulate in the food chain, and are ultimately ingested.
Another area of concern is carbon dioxide emissions from the trucks and the
plants. Although no direct and immediate effect, or “route of exposure” is of concern,
there is mounting concern for it’s long-term effects on human health. Carbon dioxide, a
greenhouse gas, is thought to contribute to global environmental change, including
climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion. (World Health Organization, 2011)
This in turn alters ecosystems, resulting in loss of biodiversity, changes in water systems
and freshwater supplies, land degradation, and ultimately strains on food-producing and
other resource systems.
Section 4. Evidence of Effect on Human Health
The particulate matter produced from nitrate and sulfate particles is associated
with increased illness and premature death from cardiorespiratory related disorders.
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009) Specifically, a study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine in 1993 examined mortality rates in six cities with
various levels of pollution and found that “air pollution was positively associated with
mortality due to lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease but not with mortality from all
other causes.” (Dockery DW, 1993) Another study found that “a 10-μg/m3 increase in
PM2.5 was associated with a 4.5% (95% CI, 1.1 to 8.0) increase in risk of presenting
with an acute coronary event.” (Pope CA, 2006) IT has also been found that lung
capacity and function did not grow as much as would be expected with body growth in
communities with a higher exposure to PM. (Gauderman WJ, 2004) Also of note, this
study found a significant association between lack of lung function growth and levels
of nitrogen dioxide, acid vapor, and elemental carbon.
Dioxins have been found to have a variety of detrimental effects on animal and
human health. In animal studies, they have ben shown to have endocrine disrupting
properties, be carcinogenic, cause congenital anomalies like cleft palate and
hydronephrosis, and cause disturbances in sexual development. (Bryant, 2001) Human
health effects include liver toxicity, neurotoxicity, atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes,
vision changes, and psychological impairment, amongst others. (Pelclová D, 2006)
Mercury, a well-known neurotoxin, has been found to impair neurological
development of fetuses, infants and children. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
2010) Inorganic mercury exposure can damage the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous
system, and the kidneys. Although human studies are limited, it has also been found to
cause cancer in rodents.
Section 5. Those at Highest Risk
Although everyone is at risk for general health effects associated with emissions
and MSW incineration, those with lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and cystic
fibrosis may be the most sensitive. Due to the higher volume of air breathed for body
size, children are also at elevated risk. Children and the developing fetus would likely
see the greatest effects of dioxin and mercury contamination. People living near, and
those who work in waste-to-energy plants may also be at increased risk due to higher
exposure load.
Section 6. Interventions
- Engineering
While recycling and waste reduction are the ultimate solutions, one hundred
percent of waste is unlikely to be able to be eliminated with these two means. Until we
find better options, the waste-to-energy plants could develop technology to better
separate out main polluters like batteries, tires, and plastics. Another option is electric
garbage trucks, which are currently being used in Paris and Beijing. (Xin, 2011) (Sage,
2011) Lower emissions trucks are that U.S. communities like Saint Paul should look
into, especially given the frequent stops they make.
- Education
With the possibility of so many different routes one’s garbage might take, the
average citizen is unlikely to know where his garbage actually goes. Individual garbage
collection companies to not make this clear. Until a uniform MSW disposal process is in
place, more needs to be done to educate the average citizen about what happens to his
waste so that he can make an educated choice about which hauler to choose.
The citizens of Saint Paul and the surrounding area need to be educated about the
inefficiency of the current system and the benefits of a uniform system. They should be
informed about the various options, including the pros and cons of each. A campaign to
encourage people to reduce waste in the first place and to improve adherence to and
participation in recycling could be undertaken, as similar campaigns have been shorn
effective in other areas. Furthermore, Saint Paul could expand its recycling options to
include various types of plastics that are not currently included.
- Enforcement
The EPA currently monitors waste-to-energy plant emissions under the auspices
of the Clean Air Act. Despite recent tightening of emission standards for MSW
combustion, the EPA admits that the process still creates significant emissions, including
hazardous air pollutants.
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2011) (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, 2007)
Ultimately, the best intervention is to reduce the amount of waste reduced and to
maximize recycling. This can best be done by institution of a uniform waste disposal
service. Alternatively, neighborhoods could be divided up so that each neighborhood is
serviced by only one company. If that approach were taken, standard waste disposal
should be enforced, so as to maximize efficiency (i.e. use of a central transfer station by
all, higher quality separation for recycling, etc.).
Section 7. Impediments
- Administrative, Technical and Sociological
With a tradition of independent MSW disposal services and support of these small
businesses it may be difficult to convince the citizens of Saint Paul and the city council to
institute a single, city-run service. However, if this were balanced by increasing
recycling efforts, which has been found to be a significant job-creating industry, they
may be amenable to change. (Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health, 2011) This
move is not without its challenges – this city may need to purchase and/or construct
recycling equipment for items that are currently non-recyclables in St. Paul (like many
plastics), which is difficult to do in these tough economic times.
Section 8. Community Partners
Several community organizations may be interested in helping to promote recycling,
streamline garbage services, and reduce use of waste-to-energy plants. The Recycling
Association of Minnesota has an interest in promoting resource conservation and using
the most cost effective and environmentally sound methods available in Minnesota.
(Recycling Association of Minnesota) The Solid Waste Management Coordinating
Board aims to “increase the efficiency and environmental effectiveness of the Twin City
metro region's solid waste management system,” and would likely be interesting in this
campaign, as well (Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board, 2011)
Works Cited
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Appendix A
Appendix B