Solid and Hazardous Waste
Chapter 21
Rapidly Growing E-Waste from Discarded
Computers and Other Electronics
Core Case Study: E-waste—An
Exploding Problem
 Electronic waste, e-waste: fastest growing
solid waste problem
 Composition includes
• High-quality plastics
• Valuable metals – mainly copper
• Toxic and hazardous pollutants – mainly air and
water runoff
 The U.S. produces almost half of the world's ewaste but only recycles about 10% of it.
Recycling E-waste
Burn houses in distance and smoke where computer parts from
the United States are burned. China 2008
Migrant workers from Hunan and Szechuan
provinces cracking open charred components
to remove the copper at the burn village.
Guiyu, China. May 2008
Ghana 2009. Burning of plastics to get to metals.
Core Case Study: E-waste—An
Exploding Problem
 International Basel Convention click for link
• Bans transferring hazardous wastes from
developed countries to developing countries.
U.S. has not ratified this treaty yet.
 European Union
• Cradle-to-grave approach
International Toxics Progress Report Card
Grade based on ratification of four important Hazardous
Material treaties. See link below for more information

Countries that rank excellent:
(4 ratifications):
-- Belgium
-- Bulgaria
-- China
-- Denmark
-- France
-- Germany*
-- Luxembourg
-- Norway
-- Slovenia
-- Spain
-- Sweden
-- Switzerland
-- United Kingdom
Click for link
Notable countries
that are failing (0
Ratifications)
include:
-- Russia
-- United States
-- Israel
-- Malta
Core Case Study: E-waste—An
Exploding Problem
 What should be done?
•
•
•
•
Recycle
E-cycle
Reuse
Prevention approach: remove the toxic materials
21-1 What Are Solid Waste and Hazardous
Waste, and Why Are They Problems?
 Concept 21-1 Solid waste represents pollution
and unnecessary waste of resources, and
hazardous waste contributes to pollution, natural
capital degradation, health problems, and
premature deaths.
WASTING RESOURCES
 Solid waste: any unwanted or discarded
material we produce that is not a liquid or gas.
• Municipal solid waste (MSW): produce directly
from homes.
• Industrial solid waste: produced indirectly by
industries that supply people with goods and
services.
 Hazardous (toxic) waste: threatens human
health or the environment because it is toxic,
chemically active, corrosive or flammable.
WASTING RESOURCES
 The United States produces about a third of the
world’s solid waste and buries more than half of
it in landfills.
• About 97% (7.6 billion tons) is industrial solid
waste. EPA 2008 data.
• About 3% (250 million tons) is MSW.
• Click for more info on waste from EPA
EPA data on waste production in U.S.
EPA waste generation by material U.S.
We Throw Away Huge Amounts of Useful
Things and Hazardous Materials
 80–90% of hazardous wastes produced by
developed countries
 Why reduce solid wastes?
• ¾ of the materials are an unnecessary waste of
the earth's resources
• Huge amounts of air pollution, greenhouse gases,
and water pollution
What Harmful Chemicals
Are in Your Home?
Cleaning
Disinfectants
Drain, toilet, and
window cleaners
Spot removers
Septic tank cleaners
Paint Products
Paints, stains,
varnishes, and
lacquers
Paint thinners,
solvents, and
strippers
Wood preservatives
Artist paints and inks
General
Dry-cell batteries
(mercury and
cadmium)
Gardening
Pesticides
Weed killers
Ant and rodent killers
Flea powders
Automotive
Gasoline
Used motor oil
Antifreeze
Battery acid
Brake and
transmission fluid
Glues and cements
Fig. 21-2, p. 562
Natural Capital Degradation: Solid
Wastes Polluting a River in Indonesia
Hundreds of Millions of Discarded Tires
in a Dump in Colorado, U.S.
21-2 How Should We Deal with
Solid Waste?
 Concept 21-2 A sustainable approach to solid
waste is first to reduce it, then to reuse or
recycle it, and finally to safely dispose of what is
left.
Solutions: Reducing Solid Waste
 Refuse: to buy items that we really don’t need.
 Reduce: consume less and live a simpler and
less stressful life by practicing simplicity.
 Reuse: rely more on items that can be used
over and over.
 Repurpose: use something for another purpose
instead of throwing it away.
 Recycle: paper, glass, cans, plastics…and buy
items made from recycled materials.
Integrated Waste Management
Fig 21-5
Integrated Waste Management: Priorities
for Dealing with Solid Waste
Fig 21-6
We Can Cut Solid Wastes by Reducing,
Reusing, and Recycling
• Seven strategies:
(1) Redesign manufacturing processes and products to
use less material and energy
(2) Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less
waste and pollution
(3) Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse,
remanufacture, compost, or recycle
(4) Eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging
(5) Use fee-per-bag waste collection systems
(6) Establish cradle-to grave responsibility
(7) Restructure urban transportation systems
What Can You Do? Solid Waste
Fig 21-7
21-3 Why Is Reusing and Recycling
Materials So Important?
 Concept 21-3 Reusing items decreases the use
of matter and energy resources and reduces
pollution and natural capital degradation;
recycling does so to a lesser degree.
Energy Consumption Involved with Using
Different Types of 350 ml Containers
Fig 21-8
What Can You Do? Reuse
Fig 21-9
RECYCLING
 Primary (closed loop) recycling: materials are
turned into new products of the same type.
 Secondary recycling: materials are converted
into different products.
• Used tires shredded and converted into
rubberized road surface.
• Newspapers transformed into cellulose insulation
or pencils (City of Oxnard).
EPA data on recycling in U. S.
EPA recycling by product
EPA Discards per capita to landfill
Europe MSW per capita 2008 data
U.S. equivalent in kg/yr in
2008 = 747 kg/person/yr
Source Austrian consultancy firm TBU
We Can Separate Household Solid
Wastes for Recycling
 Materials-recovery facilities (MRFs)
Click for Oxnard’s Del Norte MRF
Recyclable Household Hazardous Waste Program
"ABOP" Program:
Antifreeze, Batteries, Oil and Paint Recycling
For other HazMats call: 987-0717 for appointment
Recycling in Oxnard
Click to City
web page
EPA data management of MSW
Environmental Paper Network
The Environmental Paper Network represents over
100 organizations working together to accelerate social
and environmental transformation in the pulp and paper
industry. Our goals are to protect the world’s last
endangered forests, safeguard our global climate, and
ensure abundant, clean drinking water and respect for
community and indigenous rights.
Click for Environmental Paper Network
90% of office paper has NO recycled content!
Virgin vs Postconsumer paper
Recycling Terms
 POSTCONSUMER MATERIAL: Those end products generated by
consumers that have been separated or diverted from the solid
waste stream. The critical words here are "end products" and
"consumers." Products, scraps and materials still in the production
or value-added process do not qualify. Examples that do qualify
include office wastepaper, junkmail and magazines from people's
homes, undeliverable mail at the Postal Service's dead-letter office,
office wastepaper, and shipping packaging from delivered products.
 PRECONSUMER MATERIALS: Recovered materials other than
postconsumer material. Preconsumer materials have not met their
intended end-use by a consumer, and include allowable waste left
over from manufacturing, converting and printing processes.
Examples: mill converting scraps, preconsumer deinking material,
pulp substitutes.
Backyard Composter Drum: Bacteria
Convert Kitchen Waste into Compost
Biosolid digesters
Gill’s Onion Site
Click for Gills Onions system
Discarded Solid Waste Litters Beaches
Bioplastics
• Sources: Corn, Soy, Sugarcane, Switchgrass or any
organic you can make monomer from.
• Benefits: biodegradable. The basic ingredient of cornbased plastics is polylactide, or PLA. Most PLA has to
go to a commercial composting plant to be
decomposed
• Cost to make PLA bottle 5-10% more than fossil fuel
plastics
• PLA can't be recycled along with regular petroleumbased plastics.
NatureWorks Bioplastics
“Ingeo™ biopolymers are already proving themselves in success
commercial applications in the areas of fiber and nonwovens,
films, extruded and thermoformed containers, and extrusion and
emulsion coatings.”
Click for link to NaureWorks
Mirel Bioplastics
 Cambridge, Mass.-based Metabolix has developed a brand of
biodegradable plastic called Mirel that decomposes in soil, compost
or even water. It's made from genetically engineered microbes that
convert corn sugar into polymers in a fermentation process.
-Film grade (for blown and cast film applications): Can be used for
agricultural mulch film, compost bags, retail bags, and packaging.
-Injection molding grade: Can replace polystyrene or
polypropylene for use in many consumer retail products and highperformance applications.
-Extrusion sheet and thermoforming grade: Can be used for gift
cards, large format graphics, and storage containers.
-Developmental grades (for foam, blow molding, non-woven,
and monofilament): Can be used for a variety of products,
including containers and bottles, personal care and hygiene
products, and safe shipping and packing materials.
Click for link to Mirel
Trade-Offs: Recycling, Advantages and
Disadvantages
Fig 21-12
21-4 The Advantages and Disadvantages
of Burning or Burying Solid Waste
 Concept 21-4 Technologies for burning and
burying solid wastes are well developed, but
burning contributes to pollution and greenhouse
gas emissions, and buried wastes eventually
contribute to pollution and land degradation.
Waste-to-energy incinerators
 Incineration with energy recovery is one of several
waste-to-energy (WtE) technologies such as
gasification and anaerobic digestion.
 Incinerators reduce the mass of the original waste by
80–85 % and the volume (already compressed
somewhat in garbage trucks) by 95-96 % .
 The highly toxic fly ash must be safely disposed of. This
usually involves additional waste miles and the need for
specialist toxic waste landfill elsewhere.
 87 MSW Incinerators in U. S.
 No plans to build more
 Burn around 13% of our MSW for energy
 Hazardous waste incinerators = Click link
Solutions: A Waste-to-Energy Incinerator
with Pollution Controls
Fig 21-13
Trade-Offs: Incineration, Advantages and
Disadvantages
Fig 21-14
When landfill is full, layers of
soil and clay seal in trash
Topsoil
Sand
Clay
Garbage
Probes to detect
methane leaks
Electricity generator
building
Methane gas
recovery well
Compacted
solid waste
Garbage
Sand
Synthetic
liner
Sand
Clay
Subsoil
Leachate
treatment system
Methane storage
and compressor
building
Pipes collect explosive
methane for use as fuel
to generate electricity
Leachate
storage
tank
Leachate
pipes
Leachate pumped
up to storage tank
for safe disposal
Groundwater
Clay and plastic lining to
prevent leaks; pipes collect
leachate from bottom of
landfill
Groundwater
monitoring
well
Leachate
monitoring
well
Fig 21-15
Trade-Offs: Sanitary Landfills,
Advantages and Disadvantages
Fig 21-16
21-5 How Should We Deal with
Hazardous Waste?
 Concept 21-5 A sustainable approach to
hazardous waste is first to produce less of it,
then to reuse or recycle it, then to convert it to
less hazardous materials, and finally, to safely
store what is left.
We Can Use Integrated Management of
Hazardous Waste
 Integrated management of hazardous wastes
• Produce less
• Convert to less hazardous substances
• Rest in long-term safe storage
 Increased use for postconsumer hazardous
waste
Integrated Hazardous Waste
Management
Fig 21-17
Solutions: Phytoremediation
Fig 21-18
TRADE-OFFS
Phytoremediation
Advantages
Disadvantages
Easy to establish
Slow (can take
several growing
seasons)
Inexpensive
Can reduce
material dumped
into landfills
Produces little
air pollution
compared to
incineration
Low energy use
Effective only at
depth plant roots
can reach
Some toxic organic
chemicals may
evaporate from
plant leaves
Some plants can
become toxic to
animals
Fig. 21-19, p. 579
TRADE-OFFS
Plasma Arc
Advantages
Disadvantages
Small
High cost
Mobile. Easy
to move to
different sites
Produces no
toxic ash
Produces CO2 and
CO
Can release
particulates and
chlorine gas
Can vaporize and
release toxic metals
and radioactive
elements
Fig. 21-20, p. 580
We Can Store Some Forms of
Hazardous Waste
 Burial on land or long-term storage
 Deep-well disposal
 Surface impoundments
 Secure hazardous landfills
TRADE-OFFS
Deep-Well Disposal
Advantages
Disadvantages
Safe method if
sites are chosen
carefully
Leaks or spills at
surface
Wastes can often
be retrieved if
problems develop
Existing fractures or
earthquakes can allow
wastes to escape into
groundwater
Easy to do
Low cost
Leaks from corrosion
of well casing
Output approach that
encourages waste
production
Fig. 21-21, p. 580
Surface Impoundment in Niagara Falls,
New York, U.S.
TRADE-OFFS
Surface Impoundments
Advantages
Disadvantages
Low construction
costs
Groundwater
contamination from
leaking liners (or no
lining)
Low operating
costs
Can be built
quickly
Wastes can often
be retrieved if
necessary
Can store wastes
indefinitely with
secure double
liners
Air pollution from
volatile organic
compounds
Overflow from
flooding
Disruption and
leakage from
earthquakes
Output approach that
encourages waste
production
Fig. 21-23, p. 581
Solutions: Secure Hazardous
Waste Landfill
Fig 21-24
What Can You Do? Hazardous Waste
Fig 21-25
Hazardous Waste Regulations in the United States
 Two major federal laws regulate the
management and disposal of hazardous waste
in the U.S.:
• 1976: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA)
• Cradle-to-the-grave system to keep track waste.
• 1989: Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
• Commonly known as Superfund program.
Hazardous Waste Regulations in the United States
 The Superfund law was designed to have
polluters pay for cleaning up abandoned
hazardous waste sites.
• Only 70% of the cleanup costs have come from
the polluters, the rest comes from a trust fund
financed until 1995 by taxes on chemical raw
materials and oil.
Leaking Barrels of Toxic Waste at a
Superfund Site in the United States
21-6 How Can We Make the Transition to
a More Sustainable Low-Waste Society?
 Concept 21-6 Shifting to a low-waste society
requires individuals and businesses to reduce
resource use and to reuse and recycle wastes at
local, national, and global levels.
Grassroots Action Has Led to Better
Solid and Hazardous Waste Management
 “Not in my backyard” = NIMBY
 Produce less waste
• “Not in anyone’s backyard”
• “Not on planet Earth”
We Can Make the Transition to
Low-Waste Societies
 Norway, Austria, and the Netherlands
• Committed to reduce resource waste by 75%
 East Hampton, NY, U.S.
• Reduced solid waste by 85%
Animation: Economic types