APES CH. 16 & 18

• Sources of solid waste

  • Mines - ores
  • Farms
  • Industries
• Solid waste


  Waste produced when producing product
• Types of municipal solid waste (MSW)

  • Household Garbage
  • Trash from town/city
  • Waste produced from using the product
• Solid Waste is Piling Up
• Virtually, no waste in natural world due to chemical cycling
• Much of the wastes ends up in rivers, lakes, ocean, and natural landscapes
• Single use plastic bags

  • 100 billion used in US each year
  • Never disintegrates completely and takes 400-1000 years to degrade
  • Blocks drains and sewage system
  • Kills wildlife
• Disposal methods for MSW

  • Buried or Burned [landfill] (MDC)
  • Open field (LDC)
• The US is the largest producer of solid waste in the world and per capita
• Types of solid waste in the US

  • 98.5% Industrial waste
  • Mining, Agriculture, Industry
  • Breaks down VERY SLOWLY or not at all
  • Heavy metals: Lead, Mercury
  • Glass, Styrofoam, Plastic Bottles
• The 4 Rs

  • Refuse
  • Reduce
  • Reuse
  • Recycle
• Refuse

  Do without or substitute
• Reduce

  Use less
• Reuse


  Use again what you can, Second hand products
• Recycle

  Convert parts to new products
• Benefits of 4Rs: Decreases consumption of matter and energy, Reduce pollution and natural capital degradation, Saves money, Alternative to throwaway economy
• Questions to ask to reduce consumption

  • Do I really need this? [REFUSE]
  • How many of this do I really need? [REDUCE]
  • Can I use this more than once? [REUSE]
  • Can I repurpose this product when I am done? [RECYCLE]
• Waste Management

  Control waste to limit environmental harm, Does not reduce waste
• Waste reduction

  4Rs
• Integrated Waste Management (IWM)

  Variety of strategies of waste management and reduction
• Strategies for IWM

  • Change industrial process to eliminate or reduce use of harmful chemicals
  • Redesign manufacturing process to be more efficient
  • Develop easy-to-recycle products
  • Establish Cradle-to-Cradle responsibility
  • Eliminate unnecessary packaging
  • Use fee-per-bag waste collection system
• Cradle-to-Cradle Design

  Reusing parts over and over again in other products, Thinking of solid wastes and pollution as potentially valuable materials and chemicals
• EU banned e-waste from being buried or burned as manufacturers are required to take back products at end of their useful life
• Finland banned all beverage containers that cannot be reused
• Examples of cradle-to-cradle design: Rechargeable batteries and reusable cloth bags for groceries, Banning plastic bags and polystyrene foam food containers, Shared use (Renting tools)</b>
• Cradle to cradle

  Birth to birth ~ reuse bringing the biological cycle to get back materials
• Primary (Closed loop) Recycling

  Materials recycled into the same product
• Secondary Recycling

  Materials converted to new products
• Types of recyclable wastes

  • Preconsumer: Internal waste from manufacturing process - industrial
  • Postconsumer: External waste - MSW
• Upcycling

  Recycled form more useful than original item - plastic recycled into shoes/clothing
• Downcycling

  Recycled form less useful than original item - car parts recycled into screws and smaller metals
• Necessary steps for recycling

  • Collecting materials
  • Converting to new products
  • Buying and selling products that contain recycled materials
• Detoxification

  Collect then detoxify to lessen impact
• With incentives: US can recycle/compost 80% of its MSW
• Detoxification methods

  • Physical and chemical method
  • Bioremediation: Use microorganisms to treat pollutants - decompose
  • Phytoremediation: Use plants to treat pollutants
  • Plasma gasification: Use plasma arc torch - in ash there are toxic metals
• Approaches to waste management


  • Mix or Separate
  • Material Recovery Facility (MRF) can encourage increased trash production
  • Mixed waste approach becoming less sustainable in many communities
  • Source separation cost less to implement
  • Pay-as-you-throw and fee-per-bag only charges for garbage
• Hazardous waste storage methods

  • Burial
  • Deep-well Disposal
  • Surface Impoundments
  • Secure Landfills
• Pulp and Paper Industry

  World's fifth largest consumer of energy, Water use and pollution
• Burial

  Low cost, Widely used - landfill
• Recycled paper generates 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution compared to making paper from wood pulp