Municipal Solid Waste:

1
Chapter 19

• Municipal Solid Waste
• Disposal and Recovery

2
Solid Waste Problem Composition
3
Solid Waste Problem Disposal
4
Solid Waste Problem Landfills

• Leachate Generate and Groundwater
  Contamination contaminants from garbage end
  up in drinking water
• Methane Production highly flammable, may leach
  to residences
• Incomplete Decomposition Some buried objects
  do not decompose
• Settling compaction over time may result in
  settling of the ground surface

5
Solid Waste Problem Landfill Improvements
6
Solid Waste Problem Combustion

• Advantages
• reduce weight and volume
• hazardous substances are concentrated
• no change to trash collection procedures
• generates electricity

• Drawbacks
• air pollution and health effects
• expensive to build
• difficult to site
• ash must go to secure landfill
• long-term agreements with municipalities
• take away from recycling programs

7
Solutions Reduce

• Reduce weight of manufactured materials
• Electronic communication
• Reuse of durable goods
• Lengthening product life
• Stay off bulk-mailing lists

8
Solutions Recycling
Rates of recycling are on the increase, and they
reduce our abuse of natural resources.
Successful programs include pay-as-you-throw
costs, regulations, curbside pattern, preset
goals, industry involvement, recycling
coordinators
9
Solutions Paper Recycling

• Major part of waste stream
• Newspapers from old newspapers
• Recycled copy paper
• International trade to countries lacking forests
  (Europe, Taiwan, etc.)

10
Solutions Glass Recycling

• 6 of waste, 50 of non-burnable waste, 90 of
  non-biodegradable roadside litter
• Bottle laws opposed by bottlers but successful
  when launched

11
Solutions Plastic Recycling

• Do not decompose
• 10 annual increase in production
• Made from petroleum, a dwindling resource
• Recycled into carpet fiber, fill, FLEECE,
  irrigation drainage tiles, sheet plastic,
  recycling bins

12
Solutions Composting

• Organics ? 13 of solid waste
• Household level
• Municipal level
• Product used as fertilizer for gardens
• Reduce waste in landfills

13
Waste Management

• Regulations
• Solid Waste Disposal Act Bureau of Solid Waste
  Management
• Resource Recovery Act EPA recycling programs
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulate
  landfills, incinerators
• Superfund Act abandoned hazardous waste sites
• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments solid waste
  criteria
• Integrated Waste Management Reduce, Reuse,
  Recycle

14
Summary

• Solid Waste Problem composition, disposal,
  landfills, combustion
• Solutions reduce, recycle (paper, glass,
  plastic), composting
• Waste Management regulations, integrated waste
  management