we can copy nature and recycle biodegradable solid wastes
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We Can Copy Nature and Recycle Biodegradable Solid Wastes. Composting biodegradable organic waste is a way to recycle the yard trimmings and food wastes that would be sent to a landfill. Composting mimics nature by recycling plant nutrients to the soil. 4. Incinerate. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Composting biodegradable organic waste is a way to recycle the yard trimmings and food wastes that would be sent to a landfill.
Composting mimics nature by recycling plant nutrients to the soil.
We Can Copy Nature and Recycle Biodegradable Solid Wastes
4. IncinerateCan reduce
volume of waste and decrease landfill use
Can produce heat which can be used
Incineration degrades air quality
Solutions: A Waste-to-Energy Incinerator with Pollution
Controls
Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Facility / Incinerator
Solutions: A Waste-to-Energy Incinerator with Pollution
Controls
Trade-Offs: Incineration, Advantages and
Disadvantages To be economically
feasible, incinerators must be fed huge amounts of waste every day.• Encourages trash production• Discourages recycling
Many proposed projects have been cancelled:• High costs• Pollution concerns
5. LandfillsMost of our garbage is placed in landfills
Originally a cheap way to dispose waste, not built to protect environment
Regulated under RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)Location: not on floodplain, wetland, faultsMust have liners and leachate collection
systemsGroundwater must be monitored, even after
landfill closes
5. Landfills Sanitary Landfills: covered every day
minimizes odor, escaping gases, animal access, surface water run off)
Secure landfill: Designed for hazardous waste, built with multiple barriers
5. LandfillsEnvironmental risks of landfills
Access to wastes by animals (insects, rats, vultures, gulls)
Methane, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, from decomposition
Heavy metal (Pb, Cr, Fe) contamination of soil.Leachate: chemicals dissolve in water moving
through, can contaminate ground and surface water
Social issues:Odor, traffic, land values.Environmental Justice: Poor communities bear
disproportionate risk
Burying Solid Waste Has Advantages and Disadvantages
We live in a high waste society!
Story of stuffhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
Electronic waste, e-waste: fastest growing solid waste problem
Most is shipped to other countries70% goes to China Hazardous working conditions
International Basel ConventionBans transferring hazardous wastes from
developed countries to developing countriesThe U.S., Afghanistan, and Haiti are the only
countries who haven’t signed it.
Core Case Study:E-waste – An Exploding Problem
Hazardous waste: is any discarded solid or liquid material that is toxic, ignitable, corrosive, or reactive enough to explode or release toxic fumes.
Largest producers of hazardous wastes:1. Military
Munitions (used and unused), explosives, other chemicals2. Chemical industry
Chemical production, storage, disposal3. Mining
Heavy metal contamination
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous Waste1. Toxic:
Arsenic, pesticides, paints, anti-freeze, cleaning products
2. Ignitable Acetone, gasoline, charcoal fluid
3. Explosive/reactive Cyanide, chlorine
4. Corrosive Drano, Easy Off, acids
Harmful ChemicalsLeadMercuryChlorineDioxins
Integrated Hazardous Waste Management
We can:• First, produce less hazardous waste• Second, convert waste to less hazardous or
(better yet) nonhazardous substances• Lastly, put the waste into perpetual storage
systems
Methods for removing hazardous wastes or reducing their toxicity:
Physical Methods – Using charcoal or resins to filter out solids or precipitating harmful chemicals from solution
Chemical Methods – Using chemical reactions that can convert hazardous chemicals to less harmful or harmless chemicals.
Biological MethodsBioremediation – Bacteria or enzymes help destroy
toxic and hazardous waste or convert them to more benign substances.
Phytoremediation – Using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from polluted soil and water.
We Can Detoxify Hazardous Wastes
Solutions:Phytoremediation
Without proper design and care, hazardous waste disposed of on top of or underneath the earth’s surface can pollute the air and water.
We Can Store Some Forms of Hazardous Wastes
• Deep-well disposal – liquid hazardous wastes are pumped under pressure into dry porous rock far beneath aquifers.• Surface impoundments –
excavated depressions such as ponds, pits, or lagoons into which liners are placed and liquid hazardous wastes are stored.• Secure Landfills – Sometimes hazardous
waste are put into drums and buried in carefully designed and monitored sites.
Love Canal – There Is No “Away”
Between 1842-1953, Hooker Chemical sealed multiple chemical wastes into steel drums and dumped them into an old and unfinished canal excavation (Love Canal).
In 1953, the canal was filled and sold to Niagara Falls school district for $1.
The company inserted a disclaimer denying liability for the wastes.
In 1957, Hooker Chemical warned the school not to disturb the site because of the toxic waste.
In 1959 an elementary school, playing fields and homes were built disrupting the clay cap covering the wastes.
In 1976, residents complained of chemical smells and chemical burns from the site.
There were also increased cases of cancers and birth defects reported by residents of the area.
Love Canal – There Is No “Away”
President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a federal disaster area.The area was abandoned in 1980
It still is a controversy as to how much the chemicals at Love Canal injured or caused disease to the residents.
Love Canal sparked creation of the Superfund law, which forced polluters to pay for cleaning up abandoned toxic waste dumps.
Love Canal – There Is No “Away”
CERCLAComprehensive Environmental Response
Compensation and Liability Act (passed in response to Love Canal)
Establishes policy and procedures for hazardous waste disposal.
National Priorities List (NPL) - listing of the most serious sites
Established funds (Superfund) to cover clean up costs
Relatively few sites have been completely cleaned up by superfund.
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Governs the disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste requires tracking system (“cradle to grave”) and
regulates storage and disposal Substances must be labeled to indicate level of hazard
and have instructions for handling, first aid, and disposal. Labels indicate level of hazard:DANGER: extremely flammable, corrosive, or toxicPOISON: highly toxicWARNING or CAUTION: moderately or slightly toxic
Strategies to deal with waste:
Extended product liability – responsibility on manufacturers
Pay as you throw – responsibility on user Change tax and subsidy structure to favor reduction and
reuse Bottle bill, mandate refillable containers Strengthen and enforce laws (illegal to put Aluminum in
landfill in NC) Discourage unnecessary packaging and disposables Make recycling easier: more containers, more pickup Consume less
Just remember…
Everything is connected.
There is no “away” for the wastes we produce.
Dilution is not always the solution to pollution.
The best and cheapest way to deal with wastes are reduction and pollution prevention.
We Can Make the Transition to Low-Waste Societies