Chapter 2.2
Generation, sources and types
of hazardous wastes
TRP Chapter 2.2 1
The need for information
Need to identify:
• generators
• hazardous waste quantities
• types
• current treatment and disposal methods
TRP Chapter 2.2 2
Hazardous waste
generators
All industries generate some hazardous waste
The largest quantities come from five sectors:
• Chemical and pharmaceutical manufacture
• Metals refining
• Petroleum and coal products
• Metal working and fabrication
• Rubber and plastics manufacture
TRP Chapter 2.2 3
Some common wastes and industrial
sources
• Flammable eg solvents - from chemical manufacturers,
laundries & dry cleaners, metal plating, tanneries, print
shops etc
• Corrosive eg acids and alkalis - from cleaning &
maintenance, equipment repair, vehicle body shops etc
• Reactive eg bleaches and oxidisers - from chemical
manufacturers, laboratories etc
• Toxic and eco-toxic eg heavy metals, pesticides,
cyanides from metals manufacturing, photographic
processing, pesticide end users etc
TRP Chapter 2.2 4
Waste generating industries
Large quantity generators:
> 1000kg /month
eg pharmaceutical companies
Medium quantity generators:
100 - 1000kg/month
eg laboratories, printers
Small quantity generators:
<100kg/month
eg dental surgeries,
photographic processors
TRP Chapter 2.2 5
Small and medium scale industries
In developing economies, these often predominate
• Typically they have:
– low level of technology
– unskilled management
– unspecialised workers
– lack of modernisation
– poor environmental performance
• SMIs may account for one third of the total
hazardous wastes generated
• There are high risks from occupational and
environmental exposure
TRP Chapter 2.2 6
The dirty dozen
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
tanneries
textile dyeing plants
dyestuff producers
metal working and electroplating shops
foundries
automobile service shops and gas
stations
lead-acid battery manufacturing/recycling
chemical industries/laboratories
paint shops
printers
photographic processors
dry cleaners
TRP Chapter 2.2 7
Small scale industries in developing
economies 1: Mumbai, India
Problematic small-scale industries in Mumbai
Industrial category
Number of industries
Print shops
1600
Observed wastes
Inks, caustic soda, bleach,
kerosene
Dyestuff industries
900
Heavy metals
Pharmaceutical formulators 656
Drugs, containers
Electroplating shops
600
Heavy metals
Petrol stations
200
Oil and grease
Textile dying plants
180
Dye, caustic soda, sludges
Leather tanneries
9
Tannin,
Chromium,
suspended solids, BOD,
COD, chlorides
Silver refineries
*
Heavy metals, spent alkali
Car-painting shops
*
Paints and solvents
Pesticide formulators
*
Pesticides, containers
Chemical laboratories
*
Spent chemicals
* Number unknown but observed to be significant sources of hazardous waste
BOD= Biochemical oxygen demand. COD= Chemical oxygen demand.
Source: ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIAL CONSULTANTS, Case study of hazardous wastes and emissions from
small-scale manufacturing in India, case study prepared for UMP/UNCHS, Nairobi, Kenya, 1992.
TRP Chapter 2.2 8
Small scale industries in developing
economies 2: Harare, Zimbabwe
• Metals fabricating, metal products and
engineering 25%
• Transport and garaging 20%
• Textiles and clothing manufacture 13%
• Paper and printing 9%
• Chemical industries 6%
TRP Chapter 2.2 9
Small scale industries in developing
economies 3: Leon, Mexico
Estimated total annual waste load produced by the tanneries of Leon
Estimated total annual waste load produced by the tanneries of Leon
Size
Effluent
Chromium
TDS
Flesh
Hair
(l/s)
(tonnes)
(tonnes)
(tonnes
(tonnes)
Cottage
19
73
6574
2320
580
Small-scale
26
103
9247
3264
816
Medium-
104
307
27561
9728
2432
149
483
43382
15312
3828
scale
Totals
TDS: Total dissolved solids
Source: MENDOZA H., Case study of hazardous waste and emissions from small scale and cottage tanneries in urban
areas of Mexico, 1992.
TRP Chapter 2.2 10
Small scale industries in developing
economies 4: Lima, Peru
• Textile weaving and dyeing
• Tanneries
• Clothing and shoe manufacture
• Metal products including electroplating
• Print shops
• Furniture making & wood preserving
TRP Chapter 2.2 11
Some types of waste associated with
different industries
Chemical
manufacturers
Chemical process
wastes
Acids and alkalis
Spent solvents
Reactive wastes
Discarded commercial
chemical products
Vehicle maintenance shops
Paint wastes
Used oils
Spent solvents
Acids and alkalis
Furniture and wood
manufacturing and
refinishing
Spent solvents
Construction industry Paint wastes
Paint wastes
Spent solvents
Strong acids and bases
TRP Chapter 2.2 12
Non-industrial waste sources
Some examples include:
• Used motor oils
• Used car batteries
• Redundant agricultural pesticides and
containers
• Surplus paints and solvents
• Medical and health care wastes
TRP Chapter 2.2 13
Health care wastes
•Diverse mixture of sources and waste types
• doctors’ surgeries
•nursing homes
• hospitals
•dental surgeries
• clinics
•veterinary practices
•Only a small fraction pose risk - this can be
minimised by:
• Classification of wastes into groups which can be
treated similarly
• Segregation of wastes - non-risk waste should be
disposed of with municipal waste
• Safe storage
• Treatment to reduce the pathogen content of waste
TRP Chapter 2.2 14
Some typical household
hazardous wastes
• Vehicle maintenance items eg antifreeze, brake fluid
• Cleaning products eg drain cleaners, spot removers, toilet
cleaners, chlorine bleach, oven cleaners
• Cosmetics eg nail polish and remover
• Fire extinguishers
• Pet care products eg Flea collars and sprays
• Garden products eg herbicides, lawn chemicals, pesticides
• Insecticides and insect repellent
• Home care products eg paint and paint stripper, wood stains,
solvents, swimming pool chemicals
• Prescription drugs
TRP Chapter 2.2 15
Average hazardous household
waste composition
USA (1997)
9kg/hh/ pa
Norway (2000)
10.3kg/hh/pa
Household maintenance items (paints,
solvents, adhesives)
36.6%
63%
Household batteries
18.6 %
*
Cosmetics (inc nail polish & removers)
Cleaners (inc polishes, oven cleaners)
Automotive items (mostly motor oil)
Garden items (inc pesticides, fertilizers)
12.1%
11.5%
10.5%
4.1%
3%
27%
0.7%
Hobby (pool chemicals, art supplies)
3.4%
0.8%
Pharmaceuticals
Fluorescent tubes, lamps etc
3.2%
-
5.5%
* batteries are collected separately in Norway, at a rate of approx 3kg/hh/pa
TRP Chapter 2.2 16
Stockpiles of ‘old’ hazardous
wastes
One major problem is the widespread
existence of stockpiles of old hazardous
waste materials such as:
• Obsolete pesticides
• PCB transformers
• Ozone depleting substances
• Military stockpiles
TRP Chapter 2.2 17
Treatment residues
•
•
•
•
•
•
Municipal & industrial treatment sludge
Incinerator ash
Tank bottoms
Solvent still bottoms
Filter cakes
Leachate
TRP Chapter 2.2 18
Estimated quantities of hazardous
wastes
(‘000 tonnes per year - as reported by Parties to the Basel Convention 1998)
Selected countries:
China
9,896
Czech Republic
3,917
Denmark
281
Greece
287
Indonesia
17
Latvia
80
Morocco
6,543
The Netherlands
2,926
Russian Federation 107,060
Slovakia
1,400
Thailand
1,600
UK
4,846
Uzbekistan
26,442
More than 400
million tonnes
of hazardous
wastes are
generated
worldwide
each year
Source: UNEP Geo 2000
TRP Chapter 2.2 19
Quantifying waste generation:
by measurement
• Factory visits/records
• Interviews with contractors & suppliers
• On - site inspections
• Raw materials and product records
• Waste disposal records at generating,
treatment & disposal sites
• Industry associations
• Local government staff/inspectors
• Surveys
TRP Chapter 2.2 20
Quantifying waste generation:
Waste audit
Pre-assessment steps
• identify staff and resources
• define unit operations
• identify links between unit operations
Conduct audit
• quantify all inputs and outputs
• analyse and apply findings
TRP Chapter 2.2 21
Quantifying waste generation:
by rapid estimation 1
Basic indicators - use economic and social
statistics such as GDP, population
Goal-oriented indicators - used in the context of
policies and enforcement, for example when the
national aim is to achieve certain degree of
hazardous waste minimisation, or to implement
Cleaner Production
Impact indicators and indices - used to identify
impacts from hazardous wastes
Risk indicators - relate to areas of higher risk
for health and/or the environment
TRP Chapter 2.2 22
Quantifying waste generation:
by rapid estimation 2
• Per capita:
• 100kg/per person/year for industrialised countries with
strong chemical sector
• 6kg/per person/year for OECD countries with predominantly
agricultural economies
• Per unit of GDP:
• According to contribution of industry to GDP
• According to importance of chemical sector within industry
• Per unit of work force
• Per number of contaminated sites
TRP Chapter 2.2 23
Hazardous waste generation in OECD
countries
Note: The USA estimate includes large quantities of dilute wastewater not reported in other OECD
countries.
Source: YAKOWITZ H., Waste management: what now? What next? An overview of policies and
practices in the OECD area, 1993
TRP Chapter 2.2 24
Per capita waste generation (1997)
Source: Secretariat of the Basel Convention (data as reported by the parties) 1999
TRP Chapter 2.2 25
Waste generation based on Gross
National Product
Source: Secretariat of the Basel Convention (data as reported by the parties) 1999
TRP Chapter 2.2 26
National surveys
National surveys are:
• difficult, as experience shows
• useful for raising the profile of hazardous waste
issues
• sensitive - generators are anxious about revealing
information
Questionnaires
• must be simple, with only a few questions
• should be carefully designed, perhaps by
independent specialists
• must strike a balance on information sought
• must address the specific aims of the survey
TRP Chapter 2.2 27
Chapter 2.2 Summary
•Wastes come from diverse sources in all countries
•Some industry sectors are major generators,
producing common waste types
•Small and medium sized industries may also be
important contributors
•There are also non-industrial waste sources eg
households
•There is a need for information eg on generators,
waste quantities and types - national definitions
influence results. There are various methods for
quantifying waste generation
TRP Chapter 2.2 28