Environmental Science: Toward a Sustainable Future Richard T. Wright

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Environmental Science Toward a Sustainable
Future Richard T. Wright
Chapter 18

• Municipal Solid Waste Disposal and
  Recovery PPT by Clark E. Adams

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Municipal Solid Waste Disposal and Recovery

• The solid-waste problem
• Solutions to the solid-waste problem
• Public policy and waste management

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The Solid-Waste Problem

• Disposal of municipal solid waste
• Landfills
• Combustion waste to energy
• Costs of municipal solid-waste disposal

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Disposal of Municipal Solid-Waste (MSW)

• The solid-waste problem
• We generate huge amounts of MSW, and it is
  increasingly expensive to dispose of it in ways
  that are environmentally responsible and
  protective of human health.

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MSW Components
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The Fate of MSW
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Factors Contributing to Increasing Amounts of MSW

• Increasing populations
• Changing lifestyles
• Disposable materials
• Diapers
• Excessive packaging

two largest contributors to waste volume
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Old Landfill Problems

• Leachate generation
• Methane production
• Incomplete decomposition
• Settling

http//www.zerowasteamerica.org/Pictures.htm
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Improving Landfills

• Located above water table and away from airports
• Contoured floor for leachate-collection system
• Covered with earthen material
• Groundwater monitoring wells

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A Modern Landfill
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Landfill Siting Public Reactions

• LULU (locally unwanted land use)
• NIMBY (not in my backyard)
• NIMTOO (not in my term of office)

http//www.zerowasteamerica.org/Pictures.htm
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Interstate Transfer of MSW
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Trash to Treasure (Table 18-1)

• Highest (more than 1 million tons) net importers
  of MSW
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Michigan

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Trash to Treasure (Table 18-1)

• Highest (more than 1 million tons) net exporters
  MSW
• New York
• New Jersey
• Maryland
• Missouri

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Combustion Waste to Energy (WTE)
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WTE Benefits

• 80 MSW burned for electrical energy production
• 12 recovered and recycled
• 8 put into landfill

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WTE Benefits

• Tipping fees 15 to 100/ton
• Efficient
• Electricity and fuel oil savings

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WTE Benefits

• Extends life of landfill
• Reduces pollution
• Concrete blocks
• Resource recovery

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WTE Drawbacks

• Cost of construction
• Uninterrupted MSW stream flow
• Hazardous materials
• Siting
• Competition with recycling efforts

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Costs of MSW Disposal

• Tipping fees increase 34 to 263/ton
• All revenues from MSW disposal gt14 billion a
  year in 2002.
• Illegal dumping
• Tires
• Refrigerators
• Car parts

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Solutions to the Solid-Waste Problem

• Source reductions
• The recycling solution
• Municipal recycling
• Regional recycling options

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Source Reduction

• Less weight
• Internet information transfer
• Resale and donation of durable goods
• Lengthening a products life cycle
• Refusing bulk mail
• Composting

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The Recycling Solution

• Paper to paper
• Newspaper 13 MSW stream
• Worth 30/ton
• Ton of newspapers 17 trees

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The Recycling Solution

• Paper
• Glass
• Plastic
• Metals
• Yard wastes
• Textiles
• Old tires

• Compost
• Refabrication
• Synthetic lumber
• Sand or gravel
• Insulation
• Strengthens recycled paper
• Highways

Match
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Municipal Recycling

• 75 MSW recyclable if
• Mandatory
• Easy to do
• Incentives
• Political and industrial support

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State Recycling Rates
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MSW Recycling in the United States
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Regional Recycling Options

• Materials recovery facilities (MRFs)
• Mixed waste processing
• Mixed waste and yard trimmings composting

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Public Policy and Waste Management

• The regulatory perspective
• Integrated waste management

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The Regulatory Perspective

• Solid Waste Disposal Act 1965
• Resource Recovery Act 1970 and 1976
• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of
  1976
• Superfund Act 1980
• Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments 1984

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Integrated Waste Management

• Waste reduction
• Safe waste disposal
• Recycling and reuse
• Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) trash pickup

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End of Chapter 18