E waste
-shipped to africa if not buried or incinerated.
-fastest solid waste problem.
-electronic waste (computers, phones, etc).
2 Categories of Solid Waste
-Industrial (companies, factories, etc)
-Municipal (garbage/trash; homes, places other than factories, etc)
Hazardous Waste
toxic waste. threatens human health or env because its poisonous, corrosive, flammable, etc.
(Ex: medical waste, solvents, batteries, pesticides, etc)
2 Categories of Hazardous Waste
-Organic Compounds (solvents, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins)
-Toxic Heavy Metals (lead, mercury, arsenic)
in order, name the top 3 producers of hazardous waste in the US? (respectively)
military. chemical industries. mining industries.
2 reasons for sharply reducing amount of solid and hazardous wastes we produce?
1. at least 3/4 of these materials represent unnecessary consumption of earth's resources.
2. manufacturing of the products creates pollution, land degradation, etc.
2 ways to deal with the solid wastes we create?
1. Waste Management
2. Waste Reduction
Waste Management
attempt to control the wastes in a way that reduces their env impact without significantly reducing the amt of waste we produce in general.
What do we do with solid waste?
mix them together, and then transfer them from one part of the env to another, by burying them, burning them, or shipping them to another location.
Waste Reduction
produce much less waste and pollution; wastes that we produce are potential resources that we can reuse, recycle, and compost.
How can we avoid producing so much waste?
garbage trucks and such to carry waste materials to recycling and composting facilities rather than incinerators and landfills.
Integrated Waste Management
a variety of coordinated strategies for both waste reduction and disposal.
1st priority elimination of solid waste (primary pollution and waste prevention)
-eliminate use of harmful chemicals.
-use less of a harmful product
-reduce packaging and materials in products
-make products that last longer and are recyclable, reusable, and easy to repair.
2nd priority elimination of solid waste (secondary pollution and waste prevention)
-reuse -compost
-repair -recycle
-buy reusable and recyclable products.
3rd priority elimination of solid waste (waste management)
-treat waste to reduce toxicity
-incinerate waste
-bury waste in landfills
-release waste into env for dispersal or dilution
the 3 Rs
1. Reduce- use less.
2. Reuse- use it again.
3. Recycle- so u can buy products made from recycled materials.
6 ways to reduce resource use, waste, and pollution?
1. use less material and energy.
2. develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, recycle, etc.
3. eliminate or reduce unnecessary packaging.
4. use fee-per-bag waste collection systems.
5. cradle-to-grave responsibility laws.
6. restructure urban tran
Adv. and disadv. of reuse
adv: more jobs, less pollution, less waste.
disadv: poor who savage in the dumps to find reusable items end up with infectious diseases.
2 Exs of reusable items
1. Refillable glass beverage bottles
2. Refillable soft drink bottles made of PET plastic
Instead of grocery bags some countries do what?
They use cloth bags instead because plastic bags cause pollution, waste, and may cause diseases like malaria due to formation of warm puddles inside where mosquitos can breed.
2 types of recycling
1. Primary/Closed Loop Recycling
2. Secondary Recycling
Primary/Closed Loop Recyling
materials like aluminum cans are recycled into new products of the same type.
Secondary Recycling
waste materials are converted into different products.
2 types of recyclable wastes
1. pre-consumer/internal waste
2. post-consumer/external waste
preconsumer/internal waste
generated in a manufacturing process
postconsumer/external waste
generated by consumers' use of products
MRFs (Materials-Recovery Facilities)
-Machines or workers separate mixed wastes to recover valuable materials for sale as raw materials. Remaining paper, plastics, etc are recycled or burned to produce electricity or steam.
-Encourages trash production
POP (Persistant Organic Pollutants)
DDT (pesticide) and PCB (electrical construction)
Recovery plants disadvs
expensive to build, operate and maintain.
can emit CO2, and toxic air pollutants, and they produce a toxic ash that must be disposed of in landfills.
CERCLA (superfund program)
1. Identify contaminated areas
2. Contain the wastes and toxins
3. Cleanup the sites.
PAUT (pay as you throw) or fee-per-bag systems
-Charge households and businesses for the amount of mixed waste picked up but don't charge for pickup of materials separated for recycling and reuse.
-Texas instituted this method.
Composting
-form of recycling
-involves using decomposer bacteria to recycle yard trimmings, veg food scraps, and other biodegradable organic wastes.
What do we do with resulting compost?
-can be used as organic soil fertilizer, topsoil, or landfill cover.
-can be used to help restore eroded soil on hillsides, along highways, eroded cropland, etc.
What % of the world's industrial tree harvest is used to make paper?
55%
Tree free paper?
from straw and other fibers (kenaf and hemp) and agricultural residues.
Global Recycling rate?
43%
Paper recycling leaders are?
Denmark (97%)
South Korea (77%)
Germany (72%)
Sweden (55%)
What place in the US uses systems like the PAUT and fee-per-bag?
San Francisco, California
3 Factors that hinder reuse and recycling?
1. market prices don't include harmful env and health costs associated w/ producing, using, and discarding them.
2. resource extracting companies get more subsidies than reuse and recycle companies.
3. demand and price paid for recycled materials fluctuat
how to encourage reuse and recycling?
-gov can increase subsidies on reuse and recycling.
-gov can decrease subsidies on virgin resources.
-increase use of fee per bag system or PAUT.
-increase demand of recycled products.
Advs of using incinerators to burn solid waste
-reduces trash volume
-produces energy
-hazardous substances are concentrated into ash for burial
-sale of energy reduces cost
Disadvs of using incinerators to burn solid waste
-expensive to build
-produces hazardous waste
-emits some CO2 and other air pollutants
-encourages waste production
Open Dumps
-Fields or holes in the ground where garbage is deposited and sometimes burned.
-widely used near major cities.
Sanitary Landfills
-solid wastes are spread out in thin layers, compacted, and covered with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam.
-lessens risk of fire, decreases odor, and reduces accessibility to vermin.
3 priority levels for dealing with hazardous waste
1. produce less
2. convert as much as possible
3. put the rest in long-term safe storage
Where do most e-waste end up? (more than 70% of it)
China (Guiyu); because cheap labor.
Why is the cheap labor in China dangerous?
no masks, no gloves, e-waste is hazardous, exposed to toxic chemicals, and usually work in rooms with no ventilation.
Physical methods of detoxifying hazardous wastes
using charcoal or resins to filter out harmful solids, distilling liquid wastes to separate out harmful chemicals, and precipitating natural processes to separate such chemicals from solution.
Chemical methods of detoxifying hazardous wastes
convert hazardous chemicals into harmless or less harmful chemicals through chemical reactions.
Cyclodextrin
type of sugar made from cornstarch; used to remove toxic materials like solvents and pesticides from contaminated soil and groundwater.
ways to deal with hazardous wastes
cyclodextrin and nanomagnets
Nanomagnets
magnetic nanoparticles coated w/ certain compounds that can remove various pollutants from water.
Biological methods of detoxifying hazardous wastes
-bioremediation (bacteria and enzymes help destroy toxic substances;cheaper but longer to work.)
-phytoremediation (natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants;slower)
Plasma Arc Torch
-breaks hazardous wastes down at very high temperatures.
-passes an electrical current through air or unreactive gas to generate electric arc.
-high temperatures create plasma.
-expensive!!!!!!
Deep-well disposal
liquid hazardous wastes are pumped under pressure through a pipe into dry rock formations beneath aquifers.
Surface Impoundments
lined ponds, pits, or lagoons in which liquid hazardous wastes are stored.
RCRA
-EPA sets standards for management of several types of hazardous waste and issues permits to companies that allow them to produce and dispose of a certain amt of those wastes by approved methods.
-only 5% of wastes are regulated.
Cradle-to-grave system
to keep track of waste they transfer from a point of generation to an approved off-site disposal facility.
4 Principles to prevent pollution
1. everything is connected
2. no away, as in to to throw away
3. polluters and producers should pay for wastes they produce.
4. mimi nature by reusing, recycling, composting, etc.
Chapter's 3 big ideas
1. order of priorities for dealing with solid waste should be to produce less, reuse/recycle, and safely dispose.
2. order of priorities for dealing with hazardous waste should be to produce less, reuse/recycle, convert it, then safely store it.
3. solid