Solid Waste Management

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Final Exam

Monday, May 18th 11am

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The U.S. has a culture of production and rapid consumption, leading to the accumulation of

massive amounts of waste. Today we will discuss: Solid waste, focusing on municipal solid waste (MSW) Reminder- Science Magazine article on Garbology uploaded to blackboard

What is Solid Waste?

According to EPA regulations, solid waste means

any garbage, or refuse, sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.

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Categories of Solid Waste

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Solid waste from population centers

domestic & commercial garbage street and yard refuse, etc.

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In the U.S. a huge percentage (approx. 28%) of MSW is paper A similar percentage (28%) is easily compostable organics

US EPA 2009 data

Categories of Solid Waste

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Other categories of waste for next class.. Industrial/Agricultural Solid Waste (invisible)

Most abundant forms of waste in U.S. Agricultural waste Mine operation tailings Construction/demolition debris

Hazardous Waste Toxic chemical waste Radioactive waste Biological waste 7

Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:

Dumping of waste, especially in rivers or ocean, relying on it being carried away and diluted in vast area

Outdated concept, but in part still in use this approach is not sustainable

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Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:

Dumping of waste, especially in rivers or ocean, relying on it being carried away and diluted in vast area

Outdated concept, but in part still in use this approach is not sustainable

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Major cities in US almost all located on rivers

- NYC, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia

why: - water supply - transportation - energy production - WASTE DISPOSAL

Ocean dumping still occurs in some countries but is no longer legal in the U.S.

But, NYC dumped some solid waste offshore in the ocean as recently as the 1990s

1938-1987 sewage sludge dump site 12 miles

offshore 1987-1992 sewage dump site 106 miles offshore

NY Times Nov 18, 1987- New York Quits Using An Ocean Dump Site

Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse

Concentrate and contain: Compact and store in waste disposal sites Still very much in use, but increasingly difficult

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we bury most of our wastethink about the growing piles

We dont want these dumps in our backyardsNIMBY (Not In My BackYard).

They smell, they take up lots of valuable space, they

may leak dangerous material

In NYC most of our waste is shipped out of state on trucks or by rail

This involves ethical and economic issues

Open pit style dumps resulted in many problems for communities

14 Gramacho dump in Brazil

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) leachate- water that has percolated through a dump or landfill comes into

contact with waste products (toxins, organics, nutrients) become dissolved and are transported with

the water.

Since the 1970s- increasing concern re: leachate & increased regulation of dumps & landfills.

Sanitary landfills are now used 1)Dumping 2) compaction 3) covering

All on impermeable surface with draining system, why?

The # of landfills in the US has decreased in the recent decades

Source: US EPA 2009

Fresh Kills landfill, SI

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Opened in 1948 3X size of Central Park mounds up to 250 ft high Closed in 2001, but still acts as a transfer station receiving 900 tons of trash/day (1 ton = 2000 lbs; 1.8 million lbs); MSW compacted and shipped by rail out of state.

Source: www.nyc.gov

Currently being transformed into restored wetlands and public parks.

Transitions in handling waste Dilute and disperse:

Concentrate and contain:

Zero waste management: Eliminate waste entirely by reducing production

and conversion of waste into useful products A common goal, rarely attained

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Despite a goal of Zero waste production..solid waste production in the U.S. has not declined.

U.S. MSW is approx 4lbs/person/day

US EPA 2009 data

Why has total MSW generation increased faster than per capita MSW??

US EPA 2009 data

The good news: % of municipal material recycled has also increased steadily (to about 35%)

decreasing some of the impact (NYC pattern is not as promising)

Methods of MSW disposal vary substantially by country

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In the U.S. incineration accounts for about 15% of waste disposal, but is expected to increase in the future

This can be done to produce energy or just as a mass burn off

Why not burn more??

Waste to Energy, Covanta in Hempstead

Can accept 2500 tons of MSW/day (1 million+ people) Waste is incinerated to produce electricity via

steam turbines- sold to Long Island Power Authority (LIPA)

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Processing of many waste products can be coupled to production of resources that society needs

What are some examples?

Long Island Compost

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Leaves, grass clippings, landscaping material gathered and recycled into organic yard care products (e.g. mulch) and soil mixtures for urban planting. Nations largest yard waste transfer station in Westbury NY Currently constructing an Anaerobic Digester in Brookhaven, to convert food wastes into electricity and methane (compressed natural gas).

Newtown Creek Anaerobic Digesters Used to process wastewater sludge (CO2, CH4 produced) In 2014, began accepting food waste for digestion

from NYC for first time In 2015 NYC will require restaurants required to

separate food waste, where will it all go..??

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3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The 3 Rs are essential in moving towards Zero Waste production..

Goal of industrial ecology- eliminate waste as a concept and view as potential resource..

Recycling is about more than aluminum cans

However, it is a useful examplea typical

american is estimated to use approx 340 cans per year (11 lbs, 5kg).

That would be more than 2000 lbs of cans from

students in this class during 2014

This material can be readily recycled.

Reduction can be accomplished by consumer choice but also intelligent product design..

In recent decades, most plastic drink bottles are made from approx 25% less plastic..

MIT Senseable city lab

33 http://senseable.mit.edu/papers/pdf/2012_Offenhuberetal_PuttingMatterinPlace.pdf

For electronic waste (2% MSW), transportation has been estimated to account for 80% of recycling cost

Cost of waste production Direct cost to process, transport, and store:

e.g. collecting waste and storing in landfill Most commonly considered component of waste cost

Cost of pollution/degradation of land/water, and public health consequences

Cost of reduced resource availability e.g. deforestation, clean water scarcity

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*We should also consider full range of cost in considering recycling programs*

Cost of waste production Many of the costs (e.g. disposal, resource elimination)

are not internalized, meaning they are not incorporated into the commercial cost paid by consumers.

The other costs, are referred to as externalities, or costs that are decoupled from the consumer.essentailly paid by others or society as a whole

Environmental policy often finds ways to internalize these other costs

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Life cycle analysis.. Considers full cost/impact of product, including disposal.

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Linear model: Raw materials production use disposal Circular model: raw materials

production

use recycling

There are clear advantages to a more sustainable circular model.

Take home messages.. Approach to waste production has changed over the last

100 yearsaway from unregulated dumping and towards zero waste production

However, total waste MSW production has continued to climbin large part due to increasing population.

There are opportunities in reclaiming waste resources

this will be vital to sustainable resource management.

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Online sources to view:

http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/where-does-new-york-citys-trash-go

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/11/287310897/

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/02/3455697/

http://senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/trashtrack_release.mov

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