Lab period
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Article jigsaw
Chapter 24
Solid and Hazardous Waste
Question of the day:
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From when you woke up till Eco class, make
a list of all the things you have thrown
away?
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Do you think about the packaging of a
product before you buy it? (How about
those Starbucks/Wawa cups?)
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How often do you reuse objects, recycle
objects?
Overview of Chapter 24
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Solid Waste
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Waste Prevention
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•
•
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Reducing the Amount of Waste
Reusing Products
Recycling Materials
Hazardous Waste
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•
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Types of Solid Waste
Types of Hazardous Waste
Management of Hazardous Waste
Environmental Justice
Solid Waste
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US generates more solid waste per capita
than any other country
•
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2.1kg per person per day
Types of Solid Waste
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Municipal solid waste
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•
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Solid material discarded by homes, office buildings,
retail stores, schools, hospitals, prisons, etc
Relatively small portion of solid waste produced
Non-municipal solid waste
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Solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and
mining
Composition of Municipal Solid Waste
Disposal of Solid Waste
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Three methods
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Sanitary Landfills
Incineration
Recycling
Sanitary
Landfill
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Compacting
and burying
waste under
a shallow
layer of soil
Most
common
method of
disposal
Chester County Solid Waste
Authority
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http://www.chestercountyswa.org/
Sanitary Landfill
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Problems
•
•
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Methane gas production by microorganisms
Contamination of surface water & ground water
by leachate
Not a long-term remedy
Few new facilities being opened
Closing a full landfill is very expensive
Sanitary Landfill
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Special Problem of Plastic
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•
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Much of plastic is from packaging
Chemically stable and do not readily break down and
decompose
Special Problem of
Tires
•
•
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Cannot be melted and
reused for tires
Made from materials
that cannot be recycled
Can be incinerated or
shredded
Tires
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http://tire-conversion.com/index.php/whywe-recycle/general-information
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Household Hazardous Waste Days
Chester County, PA
http://www.chestercountyswa.org/pdf/LH
Schedule.pdf
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Delaware County, PA
http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/recycle/hhw.
html
The Plastic problem
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Pacific Ocean Garbage Issue
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DVD-Clip from Wired Science
Incineration
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Volume of solid
waste reduced by
90%
Produces heat that
can make steam to
generate electricity
•
Produce less carbon
emissions than fossil
fuel power plants
(right)
Incineration
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Types of Incinerators
•
•
•
Mass burn (below)
Modular
Refuse-derived
Incinerator
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Problems Associated with Incineration
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Yields air pollution
Produce large amounts of ash
Site selection often controversial
Chester, PA “Trash to Steam” Plant
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http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009
/07/06/news/doc4a51b600e99725466411
27.txt?viewmode=fullstory
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http://www.covantaenergy.com/en/list-offacilities/videos.aspx
Composting
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Includes:
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Food scraps
Sewage sludge
Agricultural manure
Yard waste
Reduces yard waste in landfills
Can be sold or distributed to community
How to yard compost?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqWTY
B_XLwE&feature=related
Waste Prevention
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Three Goals
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(1) Reduce the amount of waste
(2) Reuse products
(3) Recycle materials
Reducing Waste
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Purchase products with less packaging
Reducing Waste
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Source reduction
•
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Products are designed and manufactured in
ways that decrease the volume of solid waste
in the waste stream
Pollution Prevention Act (1990)
Dematerialization
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Progressive decrease in the size and weight of
a product as a result of technological
improvements
Reusing Products
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Refilling glass beverage bottles
•
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Heavier glass that costs more
Japan recycles almost all bottles
•
Reused 20 times
Recycling Materials
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Every ton of recycled
paper saves:
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17 trees
7000 gallons of water
4100 kwatt-hrs of energy
3 cubic yards of landfill
space
Recycle
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Glass bottles, newspapers,
steel cans, plastic bottles,
cardboard, office paper
Recycling
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Recycling Paper
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US recycles 50%
Many developed countries
are higher
Recycling Glass
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US recycles 25%
Costs less than new glass
Can be used to make
glassphalt (right)
Recycling
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Recycling Aluminum
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Making new can from recycled one costs far less than
making a brand new one
Recycling
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Recycling Metals other
than Aluminum
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Lead, gold, iron, steel,
silver and zinc
Metallic composition is
often unknown
•
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Makes recycling difficult
Recycling Plastic
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Less than 20% is recycled
Less expensive to make
from raw materials
Recycling
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Recycling Tires
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Few products are made from old tires
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Playground equipment
Trashcans
Garden hose
Carpet
Roofing materials
36% of tires are currently recycled to make
other products
Single Stream recycling
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_RWq
gXcP_k
Cell phone recycling
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCU4o_
Ce9PM&NR=1&feature=fvwp
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Terracycle- video and website
Integrated Waste Management
Hazardous Waste
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Any discarded chemical
that threatens human
health or the environment
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Reactive, corrosive, explosive
or toxic chemicals
Types of Hazardous Waste
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Dioxins
PCBs
Radioactive waste
Management of Hazardous Waste
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Chemical accidents
• National Response Center notified
• Typically involves oil, gasoline or other
petroleum spill
Current Management Policies
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(1976, 1984)
• Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (1980)
Management of
Hazardous Waste
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Cleaning up existing
hazardous waste:
superfund program
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400,000 waste sites
Leaking chemical
storage tanks and
drums (right)
Pesticides dumps
Piles of mining wastes
Must be cleaned up
Case-In-Point Hanford Nuclear
Reservation
Management of Hazardous Waste
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Superfund National Priorities List
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2006: 1558 sites on the list
States with the greatest number of sites
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New Jersey (115)
California (93)
Pennsylvania (93)
New York (86)
Michigan (65)
Management of Hazardous Waste
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Biological Treatment of Hazardous
Chemicals
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Bioremediation
Phytoremediation
Management the Waste we are Producing
Now
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(1) source reduction
(2) conversion to less hazardous materials
(3) long-term storage
Management of Hazardous Waste
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Hazardous Waste Landfill
Environmental Justice
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Environmental Justice and Ethical Issues
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Right of every citizen, regardless of age, race,
gender, social class, to adequate protection
from environmental hazards
Fundamental human right
Grassroots campaign
Mandating environmental Justice- Federal
Level-Clinton 1994, 1997 case in LA, nuke
facility(Ur processing plant)
Environmental Justice
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International Waste Management
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Developed countries sometimes send their
waste to developing countries
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Less expensive than following laws within the
country
Controversial aspect of waste management
Basel Convention (1989)
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Restricts international transport of hazardous
waste