Solid Waste

What is a solid waste

Any material that we discard, that is
not liquid or gas, is solid waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW):
Solid waste from home or office

Industrial Solid Waste:

Solid waste produced from Mines,
Agriculture or Industry

What is a Hazardous Waste?

Hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or
potentially harmful to human health or the environment
Ignitability - Ignitable wastes create fires under certain conditions or
are spontaneously combustible, or have a flash point less than 60 C
(140 F).
Corrosivity - Corrosive wastes are acids or bases (pH less than or equal
to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5) that are capable of corroding metal
containers, such as storage tanks, drums, and barrels.
Reactivity - Reactive wastes are unstable under "normal" conditions.
They can cause explosions, toxic fumes, gases, or vapors when mixed
with water.
Toxicity - Toxic wastes are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed
(e.g., containing mercury, lead, etc.). When toxic wastes are disposed of
on land, contaminated liquid may drain (leach) from the waste and
pollute ground water. Toxicity is defined through a laboratory procedure
called the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).
Major types: Organics and Heavy Metals, Radioactive wastes

U.S. Scenario

4.6% of world population

50% of toxic wastes
1/3rd of solid wastes
Mining (76%), agricultural (13%),
industrial (9.5%) = 98.5%
Municipal solid waste 1.5%

Municipal Solid Waste

(MSW)

Waste Management

Recycling in USA
Auto batteries: 99.2%
Office Type Papers: 70.9%
Yard Trimmings: 64.7%
Steel Cans: 62.8%

Aluminum Beer and Soft Drink Cans:

48.2%
Tires: 35.4%
HDPE Natural (White Translucent)
Bottles: 29.3%
Glass Containers: 28.0%
PET Bottles and Jars: 27.2%

Benefits of Recycling
USA recycled 83 million tons of MSW.
This provides an annual benefit of 182
million metric tons of carbon dioxide
equivalent emissions reduced,
comparable to removing the emissions
from 33 million passenger cars.
But the ultimate benefits from recycling
are cleaner land, air, and water, overall
better health, and a more sustainable
economy.

Municipal Waste

On-site (at home)

Open Dump
Sanitary Landfill
Incineration
Ocean dumping

Open Dump
Unsanitary, draws pests and vermin,
harmful runoff and leachates, toxic
gases
Still accounts for half of solid waste
Several thousand open dumps in the
USA

Sanitary Landfill
Sanitary Landfill
Layer of compacted trash covered with a layer of earth
once a day and a thicker layer when the site is full
Require impermeable barriers to stop escape of
leachates: can cause problem by overflow
Gases produced by decomposing garbage needs
venting
1 acre/10,000 people: acute space problem: wastes
piling up over 150 million tons/year;
# of landfills down from 8000(1988) to 3091(1996)
NIMBY, NIMFYE, NIMEY, NOPE
NJ ships >5 million tons of waste every year

Sanitary Landfill
Avoid:
Swampy area/ Flood plains /coastal
areas
Fractures or porous rocks
High water table

Prefer:
Clay layers
Heads of gullies

Monitoring of Sanitary
Landfills
Gases: Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen
sulphide
Heavy Metals: Lead, Chromium in soil
Soluble substances: chloride, nitrate,
sulfate
Surface Run-offs
Vegetation: may pick up toxic substances
Plant residue in soil
Paper/plastics etc blown by the wind

Incineration
Solves space problem but:
produces toxic gases like Cl, HCl, HCN, SO 2
High temp furnaces break down hazardous
compounds but are expensive ($75 - $2K/ton)
Heat generated can be recovered: % of waste burnt
Japan 67%, Switzerland 80%, USA 6%

North Little Rock, AK saving $50K in heating cost and

reducing landfill requirement by 95%
How many MSW combustors exist in the United
States? In 1996, 110 combustors with energy
recovery existed with the capacity to burn up to
100,000 tons of MSW per day.

Ocean Dumping
Out of sight, free of emission control norms
Contributes to ocean pollution
Can wash back on beaches, and can cause
death of marine mammals
Preferred method: incineration in open sea
Ocean Dumping Ban Act, 1988: bans dumping
of sewage sludge and industrial waste
Dredge spoils still dumped in oceans, can cause
habitat destruction and export of fluvial
pollutants

Reducing Waste
Incineration, compacting
Hog feed: requires heat treatment
Composting: requires separation of organics from
glass and metals
Recycling and Reusing
Recycle of glass containers: 5 million tons
Plastic: marked by types for easy recycling
Converted into Fibers, trash bags, plastic lumber, fill
for pillows, insulation etc
Junked cars: 150 200 kg of plastics: soon to be
recycled

Municipal Waste

On-site (at home)

Open Dump
Sanitary Landfill
Incineration
Ocean dumping

Open Dump
Unsanitary, draws pests and vermin,
harmful runoff and leachates, toxic
gases
Still accounts for half of solid waste
Several thousand open dumps in the
USA

Sanitary Landfill
Sanitary Landfill
Layer of compacted trash covered with a layer of earth
once a day and a thicker layer when the site is full
Require impermeable barriers to stop escape of
leachates: can cause problem by overflow
Gases produced by decomposing garbage needs
venting
1 acre/10,000 people: acute space problem: wastes
piling up over 150 million tons/year;
# of landfills down from 8000(1988) to 3091(1996)
NIMBY, NIMFYE, NIMEY, NOPE
NJ ships >5 million tons of waste every year

Sanitary Landfill
Avoid:
Swampy area/ Flood plains /coastal
areas
Fractures or porous rocks
High water table

Prefer:
Clay layers
Heads of gullies

Monitoring of Sanitary
Landfills
Gases: Methane, Ammonia, Hydrogen
sulphide
Heavy Metals: Lead, Chromium in soil
Soluble substances: chloride, nitrate,
sulfate
Surface Run-offs
Vegetation: may pick up toxic substances
Plant residue in soil
Paper/plastics etc blown by the wind

Incineration
Solves space problem but:
produces toxic gases like Cl, HCl, HCN, SO 2
High temp furnaces break down hazardous
compounds but are expensive ($75 - $2K/ton)
Heat generated can be recovered: % of waste burnt
Japan 67%, Switzerland 80%, USA 6%

North Little Rock, AK saving $50K in heating cost and

reducing landfill requirement by 95%
How many MSW combustors exist in the United
States? In 1996, 110 combustors with energy
recovery existed with the capacity to burn up to
100,000 tons of MSW per day.

Ocean Dumping
Out of sight, free of emission control norms
Contributes to ocean pollution
Can wash back on beaches, and can cause
death of marine mammals
Preferred method: incineration in open sea
Ocean Dumping Ban Act, 1988: bans dumping
of sewage sludge and industrial waste
Dredge spoils still dumped in oceans, can cause
habitat destruction and export of fluvial
pollutants

Reducing Waste
Incineration, compacting
Hog feed: requires heat treatment
Composting: requires separation of organics from
glass and metals
Recycling and Reusing
Recycle of glass containers: 5 million tons
Plastic: marked by types for easy recycling
Converted into Fibers, trash bags, plastic lumber, fill
for pillows, insulation etc
Junked cars: 150 200 kg of plastics: soon to be
recycled

In 1996, recycling of solid waste in the

United States prevented the release of
33 million tons of carbon into the air
roughly the amount emitted annually by
25 million cars.
1 ton of newspaper=18 trees, 3 m3 of
landfill, 60% less energy. Govt recycling
saving 223,000 tons, 4 million trees, $7.4
million

Auto
Steel
Aluminum Paper & Yard
Glass
Plastic
Tires Batteries Cans Packaging
Paperboard waste container
container

Recycling: facts and

figures
In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented
about 64 million tons of material from ending up in
landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32
percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled
during the past 15 years.
50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink
bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink
cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of
all major appliances are now recycled.
Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program
existed in the United States, which collected several
materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside
programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005,
about 500 materials recovery facilities had been
established to process the collected materials.

Waste Exchange
One persons waste can be another
persons raw material
Fluorite from Al smelter in MD
Isopropyl alcohol = cleaning solvent
Nitric Acid from Electronic Industry =
high grade fertilizer
Spent acid of steel industry = control
for H2S

Liquid Waste
Sewage
Highly toxic Industrial Waste & Used Oil
Dilute and Disperse
Concentrate and Contain
Secure Landfill
Sealed drums to be put in impermeable holds with monitoring
wells to check for leakage: does not work

Deep well Disposal

Pumping in deep porous layer bounded by impermeable
formations, well below water table
$1 million to drill, $15-20/ton afterwards
Restricted by geological considerations, can trigger
earthquakes

Story of Love Canal

A ditch 20m wide, 3m deep and 1km long

1890: Built near Niagara falls for hydro-power
1905: Hooker Electrochemical established
1942: Hooker buys the site for waste disposal, 20,000 tons of toxic
chemical dumped in 10 yr
1953: site bought by Niagara School board for $1, Hooker absolved of
any future damage
1977: study shows toxic effects in adjoining homes,>40 toxic
chemicals identified
1978: Health advisory, 100 families to be shifted
1980: remedial measures taken, EPA study shows chromosome defects
in residents, President Carter declares emergency, provides federal aid
1981: Over 500 families moved out, hundreds waiting for aid
EPA estimate: 30,000 hazardous waste sites in US, only 10% of
hazardous wastes properly disposed, 300 million tons generated each
year

In 1996, recycling of solid waste in the

United States prevented the release of
33 million tons of carbon into the air
roughly the amount emitted annually by
25 million cars.
1 ton of newspaper=18 trees, 3 m3 of
landfill, 60% less energy. Govt recycling
saving 223,000 tons, 4 million trees, $7.4
million

Auto
Steel
Aluminum Paper & Yard
Glass
Plastic
Tires Batteries Cans Packaging
Paperboard waste container
container

Recycling: facts and

figures
In 1999, recycling and composting activities prevented
about 64 million tons of material from ending up in
landfills and incinerators. Today, this country recycles 32
percent of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled
during the past 15 years.
50 percent of all paper, 34 percent of all plastic soft drink
bottles, 45 percent of all aluminum beer and soft drink
cans, 63 percent of all steel packaging, and 67 percent of
all major appliances are now recycled.
Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program
existed in the United States, which collected several
materials at the curb. By 2005, almost 9,000 curbside
programs had sprouted up across the nation. As of 2005,
about 500 materials recovery facilities had been
established to process the collected materials.

Waste Exchange
One persons waste can be another
persons raw material
Fluorite from Al smelter in MD
Isopropyl alcohol = cleaning solvent
Nitric Acid from Electronic Industry =
high grade fertilizer
Spent acid of steel industry = control
for H2S

Liquid Waste
Sewage
Highly toxic Industrial Waste & Used Oil
Dilute and Disperse
Concentrate and Contain
Secure Landfill
Sealed drums to be put in impermeable holds with monitoring
wells to check for leakage: does not work

Deep well Disposal

Pumping in deep porous layer bounded by impermeable
formations, well below water table
$1 million to drill, $15-20/ton afterwards
Restricted by geological considerations, can trigger
earthquakes

Story of Love Canal

A ditch 20m wide, 3m deep and 1km long

1890: Built near Niagara falls for hydro-power
1905: Hooker Electrochemical established
1942: Hooker buys the site for waste disposal, 20,000 tons of toxic
chemical dumped in 10 yr
1953: site bought by Niagara School board for $1, Hooker absolved of
any future damage
1977: study shows toxic effects in adjoining homes,>40 toxic
chemicals identified
1978: Health advisory, 100 families to be shifted
1980: remedial measures taken, EPA study shows chromosome defects
in residents, President Carter declares emergency, provides federal aid
1981: Over 500 families moved out, hundreds waiting for aid
EPA estimate: 30,000 hazardous waste sites in US, only 10% of
hazardous wastes properly disposed, 300 million tons generated each
year

Radioactive Waste Disposal

Isotopes with short half-lives are gone quickly,
those with long half-lives will decay too little
Low level wastes: 90% of all radioactive wastes
20 temporary and 6 commercial disposal sites
States to take care of their low level waste

High level wastes e.g., spent nuclear fuel rods

Should be so disposed as to cause less than 1000
death in 10,000 years

High Level Waste

Depository

Rocketing to sun
Under Antarctica Ice sheet
Subduction Zone
Sea bed disposal
Bedrock caverns
Granites, basalt, tuff, shale, salt caverns
Salt: High melting point, impermeable in dry
condition, self-sealing, cheap resource

No permanent high level waste repository

yet

Requirements for a radioactive waste disposal

system

Design and Fabricate a System that

will
Last thousands of years longer than
recorded human history
Be robust enough to isolate highly
radioactive material so that it will not
threaten human health and environment
for more than ten thousand years.

Story of Yucca Mountain

Site
1982: Nuclear Waste Policy Act
Congress charges DOE with the task
Two high level waste depository in the eastern and the
western USA
Billions collected from tax on utilities

1986: Hanford, Wa, Yucca Mtn, Ne and Deaf Smith

County, Tx shortlisted as western sites
1987: Congress suddenly decides on Nevada (screw
Nevada bill)
Read about Screw Nevada Bill
Nevada to receive $20 million/year

Feb 15, 2002: Pres. Bush approved Yucca Mtn as the

site for high level nuclear waste respository

Yucca Mountain Site

Geologically stable (?)
Limited fault displacement
No volcanism in 10,000 years

Tuff host rock, 1000 ft below the surface,

1000 ft above the water table
Arid climate, no streams, low water table
Low population density
Federally owned land, close to Nevada test
sites