8.3 - Solid Domestic Waste

Question 2

Solid domestic waste

Answer 2

The waste generated from households

Question 3

Solid domestic waste can be made up of…

Answer 3

Paper
Cardboard
Metal, glass
Plastics
E-waste
Household chemicals

Question 4

Garbage: the 4 broad categories

Answer 4

Organic waste: kitchen waste, vegetables, flowers, leaves, fruits.

Toxic waste: old medicines, paints, chemicals, bulbs, spray cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish.

Recyclable: paper, glass, metals, plastics.

Soiled: hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood and other body fluids.
​

Question 5

Non-biodegradeable waste

Answer 5

Waste that can not be broken down into its base compounds by micro-organisms, air, moisture, soil in a reasonable amount of time

Question 6

Why is non-biodegradeable waste an environmental concern

Answer 6

As it threatens to overwhelm landfills and create disposal problems

Question 7

What is the effect of a linear economy

Answer 7

A ‘take, make, dispose’ method of manufacturing means that instead of recycling the raw materials and any waste associated with the production process, they are disposed of instead.

Question 8

What are the downsides of a linear economy

Answer 8

Not only does a linear economy product a huge amount of unwanted, and sometimes dangerous landfill waste, it also puts a lot of pressure on the country’s plummeting resources as new raw materials need to be found and utilized

Question 9

Discuss the effect and purpose of landfills

Answer 9

Throwing daily waste/garbage in the landfills is the most popularly used method of waste disposal used today. This process of waste disposal focuses attention on burying the waste in the land

Question 10

Discuss the effect and purpose of incineration/combustion

Answer 10

A type disposal method in which municipal solid wastes are burned at high temperatures so as as to convert them into residue and gaseous products. The biggest advantage of this type of method is that it can reduce the volume of solid waste to 20 to 30 percent of the original volume, decreases the space they take up and reduce the stress on landfills.

Question 11

Discuss the purpose and effect of recovery and recycling

Answer 11

Process of taking useful discarded items for a specific next use. These discarded items are then processed to extract or recover materials and resources or convert them to energy in the form of useable heat, electricity or fuel.

Question 12

Discuss the purpose and effect of composting

Answer 12

A easy and natural bio-degradation process that takes organic wastes i.e. remains of plants and garden and kitchen waste and turns into nutrient rich food for your plants.

Question 13

Four types of pollution management strategies

Answer 13

Recycling, incineration, composting and landfill

Question 14

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Answer 14

Reduce - Reduce packaging
Reuse - Choose second hand materials or reusable containers
Recycle - Choose materials that can be recycled

Question 15

Composting as a PMS

Answer 15

Organic can be composted at source. Choose biodegradable materials

Question 16

Incineration as a PMS

Answer 16

Easy and Quick. Releases greenhouse gases such as methane which could be used for powering but can produce toxic pollutants

Question 17

Landfill as a PMS

Answer 17

Might pollute groundwater through leeching. We are facing less available space

Question 18

Sealed landfill as a PMS

Answer 18

Prevent leeching but higher costs. There is limited space

Question 19

Composting as a PMS

Answer 19

Can turn organic wastes into resources

Question 20

Advantages of composting

Answer 20

Reduces amount of waste in landfills

Low cost

Composting can be done at the commercial and industrial levels, but also on a household level

​Creates fertile soils

Decrease the use of synthetic fertilizers (which has it’s own environmental issues it causes)

Improves soil porosity and water retention

Question 21

Disadvantages of composting

Answer 21

If not done correctly can attract pests

​Requires public buy in

Only for organic matter

Windrow and aerated static pile composting require relatively large areas, and odor control is a common problem.

Residential composting bins can get very dirty, and be hard to clean

Amount of effort involved. All the materials must be carried to the compost pile,

Question 22

Recycling advantages

Answer 22

Prevents the loss of useful raw materials.

Reduces the consumption of new raw materials.

Reduces energy usage in some areas (though collection and processing does use energy).

Creates Green jobs

Reduces pollution at the extraction phase of the process - getting the raw materials out of the ground.

Lowers the release of greenhouse gases.
materials are collected, separated, and processed first.

Success depends on how much energy and raw materials are required to produce the material in the first place.
plastics

Glass can be melted and re-shaped into new bottles or jars indefinitely; this requires less energy than making new bottles and jars
paper

Metals (aluminum is most common and cost-effective material for recycling; steel is also frequently recycled

Question 23

Recycling disadvantages

Answer 23

Requires public buy in

Not always cost effective

Building up a new waste recycling unit takes up a lot of capital.

Products may not be as durable. These kinds of products are almost always made of trashed waste material collected from other waste materials that have been overly utilized and fragile. This makes products of recycled waste less durable and low priced.

Locations where every manner of waste is piled provides a nice ground for the formation of debris and spread of infectious diseases

Question 24

Incineration advantages

Answer 24

SDW burned at very high temperatures.

Very useful for clinical waste and any hazardous waste containing pathogens

Landfill space is running out. Incineration can burn up to 90% of the total waste generated in a chosen area

Dioxin emissions from incineration have been reduced with new technology.

Can be used to produce electricity (‘waste-to-energy’ plants)

Takes up much less space than landfills.

​Reduces the volume of waste by 80 – 85% therefore it is very popular in countries where land is scarce e.g. Japan.

Used to generate local district heating. Sweden generates 8% of its heating needs from waste incinerators..

Can function in any type of weather

Bottom ash can be recycled and used to build roads

Avoids the methane emissions of landfills.
Incineration doesn’t add any toxic elements to the groundwaterIncineration plants retrieve metal form the ashes and this can then be recycled.

Nutrients returned to soils in agriculture, parks, or home gardens

Already used on large-scale basis in many MEDC

Many people in LEDC’s live on the tips and make a living sifting through the waste. Incinerators take away this livelihood.

Question 25

Icineration disadvantages

Answer 25

Toxic fly ash is difficult to dispose of safely and adds waste miles (distance the waste is transported) as it is moved to landfills.

Emits smoke from the chimneys includes nitrogen oxide, particulates, heavy metals, acid gases and the carcinogen dioxin.

May produce dioxins and heavy metal deposits from materials burned​

New incinerators are taking away the funding from other renewable energy research and development.

Old incinerators emit dioxin and furan. These are toxic gases which have been cited as being carcinogenic.

​Causes property devaluation in the surrounding areas.

Causes visual pollution due to the intrusive chimney stack.

There are some concerns as to the safety levels of bottom ash and the UK Highway Authority has banned its use in concrete work.

Filters do not remove the finest particles from air emissions.

Set up costs are very high.

Question 26

Landfills advantages

Answer 26

Primary way SDW is disposed of

Initially cheap, but costs increasing rapidly as sites fill up

Methane from decomposition may be captured for energy production. Used to generate local district heating in Denmark and Sweden.

Old landfill sites can be landscaped and re-used for building projects.

Creates jobs for the local community - though they are usually unskilled and low paid jobs

Landfill sites that are close to settlements reduce the cost of transporting the waste

Question 27

Landfill disadvantages

Answer 27

Landfill sites give off dangerous gases that cause air pollution and global warming (methane). There is also the potential for explosions if methane is allowed to build up.

​Liners can fail and leachate leak into the local environment and groundwater sources.

Settling after compaction can cause problems for future uses – must be left a long time to settle fully.

Most landfill sites close to populations are full so waste collection vehicles have to travel a long way to alternative sites.

Landfills are filling up. Even with daily compaction of waste the life span of landfills is limited.

Poorly managed sites cause problems with vectors such as rats, mice and flies increasing the spread of diseases.

Heavy vehicles cause traffic problems and damage local roads.

Poorly managed sites cause problems with dust, odor, visual and noise pollution - these can negatively impact local property prices in the area.

Contribute to marine debris - the litter that ends up in seas and oceans as it blows off poorly managed sites.