Chapter 21: Solid and hazardous waste Flashcards
Solid Waste
Solid items discarded from households and industries
2 Types of Solid Waste
- Industrial Solid Waste: Produced by mines, farms, and industries
- Municipal Solid Waste: Commonly known as garbage or trash, produced by homes and workplaces
Environmental Impact Solid Waste
Solid waste can block drains, harm wildlife, and contribute to pollution. In developed countries, it often ends up in landfills, incinerators, or oceans. In less developed countries, it’s usually dumped in open areas.
Resource Loss of Solid Waste
Solid waste often contains valuable materials that could be reused or recycled, leading to a loss of potential resources
Hazardous Waste
Discarded materials that can harm human health or the environment due to their toxic, corrosive, flammable, or disease-causing properties
3 Types of Hazardous Waste
- Organic Compounds: Includes harmful elements like lead, mercury, and arsenic
- Radioactive Waste: Produced by nuclear power plants and certain industrial processes
- Electronic Waste: Discarded electronic devices, which can contain harmful chemical and metals
Environmental Impact of Hazardous Waste
Improper disposal can lead to air and water pollution, ecosystem degradation, and health threats. For instance, electronic waste can release toxic substances into the environment
Health Impact of Hazardous Waste
Exposure to hazardous waste can lead to various health issues, including respiratory problems, cancers, and other diseases
Nature’s Waste Management
In nature, there’s essentially no waste. Everything is recycled in a closed-loop system where the waste of one organism becomes a resource for another
Human Waste Management
Due to the law of conservation of matter and current human lifestyles, we produce waste that doesn’t fit into nature’s cycle. However, by adopting strategies like cradle-to-cradle design, we can significantly reduce waste.
3 Solutions for Waste
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Emphasizing waste reduction, reusing items, and recycling can help minimize the environmental impact of waste
- Proper Disposal: Ensuring that hazardous waste is disposed of correctly can prevent environmental contamination and health risks
- Innovation: Adopting innovative approaches, like cradle-to-cradle, can help in mimicking nature’s waste management system
Waste Management
Focuses on controlling and disposing of waste to minimize environmental harm, but doesn’t necessarily aim to reduce waste production
Waste Reduction
Emphasizes producing less waste and promoting reuse, recycling, and composting of the waste produced
Integrated Waste Management
A coordinated approach that combines various strategies for waste management and waste reduction
Goal of Integrated Waste Management
To address waste challenges holistically, considering both reduction and disposal
The 4 Rs of Waste Reduction
- Refuse: Avoid using products or materials that generate waste
- Reduce: Minimize the amount of waste produced by using less
- Reuse: Use items multiple times before discarding
- Recycle: Convert used resources into new products and support products made from recycled materials
6 Strategies for Waste Reduction
- Change Industrial Processes: Modify processes to reduce or eliminate the use of harmful chemicals
- Redesign Manufacturing: Optimize processes and products to consume less material and energy
- Product Design: Create products that are easy to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost, or recycle
- Cradle-to-Cradle Responsibility Laws: Hold producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, from production to disposal
- Reduce Packaging: Minimize or eliminate unnecessary packaging to reduce waste
- Pay-Per-Bag Systems: Charge consumers based on the amount of waste they produce, encouraging waste reduction
Decreased Consumption
By questioning our needs and making conscious choices we can significantly reduce our consumption or resources
Design for Reuse
Manufacturers can design products for reuse, ensuring longevity and multiple uses
4 Types of Recycling
- Upcycling: transform in products of higher quality/value
- Downcycling: lower quality/value
- Primary Recycling: Reprocessing materials into new products of the same type
- Secondary Recycling: different products
Pre-Consumer Waste
Waste generated during the manufacturing proces
Post-Consumer Waste
Waste produced after the consumer has used and discarded a product
Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs)
Facilities where mixed waste is separated to recover valuable materials. However, contamination by non-recyclables can make this process less economically viable
2 Alternative Recycling Methods
- Paper Recycling: can save water, trees, and energy
- Glass Recycling: conserving resources and energy
4 Advantages of Recycling
- Reduce consumption of energy and minerals
- Minimizes air and water pollution
- Lowers greenhouse gas emissions
- Decreases the amount of solid waste
3 Disadvantages of Recycling
- In areas with abundant landfill space, recycling can be more expensive than landfilling
- Reduces profits for landfill and incineration businesses
- Can be inconvenient for some people, especially without proper facilities or systems in place
4 Advantages of Burning Waste (Incineration)
- Volume Reduction
- Energy Production
- Hazardous Substance Concentration
- Cost Reduction
5 Disadvantages of Burning Waste (Incineration)
- Air Pollution
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Hazardous Waste Production
- High Initial Costs
- Encourages Waste Production
4 Advantages of Burying Waste (Sanitary Landfills)
- Cost-Effective
- Large Capacity
- Land Reuse
- Availability
4 Disadvantages of Burying Waste (Sanitary Landfills)
- Environmental Impact
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Encourages Waste Production
- Aesthetic and Nuisance Issues
3 Priority Levels for Hazardous Waste Management
- Produce Less
- Convert to less Hazardous Forms
- Safe Storage
3 Detoxification Methods
- Physical Methods: e.g. filtering
- Chemical Methods: Convert into less harmful chemicals
- Biological Methods:
- Bioremediation: Use bacteria and enzymes to destroy or convert toxic substances into harmless compounds
- Phytoremediation: Use natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from polluted areas
3 Advantages of Plasma Gasification
- Produces a fuel mixture of CO and H2
- Mobile and can be moved to different sites
- Does not produce toxic ash
3 Disadvantages of Plasma Gasification
- High operational cost
- Emits CO2 and CO
- Can release particulates, chlorine gas, toxic metals, and radioactive elements
3 Advantages of Deep-Well Disposal
- Safe when sites are chosen carefully
- Wastes can be retrieved if necessary
- Relatively low cost
3 Disadvantages of Deep-Well Disposal
- Potential for leaks due to well casing corrosion
- Emission of CO2 and other pollutants
- Encourages waste production
3 Advantages of Surface Impoundments (Lined Ponds, Pits, Lagoons)
- Cost-effective
- Allows for waste retrieval
- Can store wastes indefinitely with secure double liners
3 Disadvantages of Surface Impoundments (Lined Ponds, Pits, Lagoons)
- Risk of water pollution from leaks
- Air pollution from volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Encourages waste production
Basel Convention
Prohibits countries from transporting hazardous waste across borders without the receiving country’s consent
3 Challenges to Reuse and Recycling
- Externalized Costs
- Uneven Economic Incentives
- Fluctuating Demand
3 Strategies for a Low-Waste Economy
- Level the Economic Playing Field
- Fee-per-Bag Systems
- Legislation
4 Core Principles for Waste Reduction
- Everything is Connected
- No “Away” in “Throw Away”
- Polluter Pays Principle
- Mimic Nature
