Chapter 21: Solid, Toxic, and Hazardous Waste Flashcards
How many tons of solid waste does the U.S. create?
11 billion tons
What percent of the solid waste produced by the U.S. is from agriculture?
50%
Industrial Waste
Amounts to about 400 million metric tons per year. About 60 million tons of this waste is toxic or hazardous.
Municipal Waste
Combination of household and commercial refuse that accounts for about 200 million metric tons per year.
What fraction of a ton of garbage is produced per capita in the U.S?
2/3 a ton; This is double that of a person in Japan or Europe and 5-10 times more than developing countries
What percent of U.S. waste is paper products?
42%
Most of U.S. waste is not separated. Why?
Collecting and dumping processes mix
What are examples of unsafe waste material?
Paint cans, pesticides, batteries, cleaning solvents, smoke detectors, and plastics
What two harmful things do burning plastics release?
PCBs and dioxins
What are the Three R’s?
Reduction
Reuse
Recycle
What are two ways to dump waste?
Open dumps and ocean dumping
Open Dump
Dumping garbage and unwanted materials in a common location. This is common in developing countries. Health hazard!
Examples: Mexico City and Manila
Ocean Dump
Dumping garbage and unwanted materials in the ocean
How many tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean annually?
20 million tons
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
A swirling mass of garbage between Hawaii and California trapped by the North Pacific Gyre. Larger than Texas!
About what percent of U.S. electronic waste is shipped overseas?
80%
Each year ___ million computers and __ million cell phones are included in e-waste shipment.
47; 1
Where does most U.S. electronic waste go?
China
What do the Chinese do with U.S. electronic waste?
Villagers, including children, break up the e-waste to
retrieve valuable metals and materials. They make
money off of scrap recovery.
Groundwater contamination in electronic waste dump sites is how many times more than WHO’s limit?
200 times
TVs in America are discarded after how many years of use?
5 years
Computers, play stations, and cell phones are discarded in less than how many years?
5 years
There are over how many computers in use in the U.S. right now that will be disposed of in a few years?
600 million
Only about what percent of the disposed electronic waste is recycled?
10%
Sanitary Landfills
Solid waste is disposed of, then regulated and controlled. The waste is compacted and covered with soil daily. An impermeable clay or plastic lining encloses the garbage and a drainage system is installed.
Where are landfills being built today?
Away from lakes, rivers, and aquifers
The U.S. spends about how much money per year to dispose of garbage?
$10 billion
About how many landfills are using methane recovery?
300 landfills
Energy Recovery (Waste to energy)
Burning garbage can produce an energy resource. The heat produced can be used for electricity.
In the U.S, around ___ incinerators burn _____ tons of garbage daily.
110; 45,000
Municipal Incinerators
Burn household and commercial garbage. Most by mass burning (dump everything together).
Why is incinerator cost debated?
They cost around $100-300 million to make
Tipping Fees
Add to the cost of an incinerator; Fee charged to haulers
Burning produces what?
Fly ash
Fly Ash
Light, air particles that can penetrate lungs and are contaminated with dioxins and metals.
What one product should not be put into an incinerator?
Batteries
Recycling
The reprocessing of discarded materials into
new and useful products.
Ex. Aluminum cans and bottles can be melted and
recast into new cans and bottles, old tires can be
shredded and used in road resurfacing, newspapers can
be shredded and used in insulation.
Aluminum has a value of what amount per ton?
$2,500
What was the name of New York City’s last landfill?
Fresh Kills
When did New York close Fresh Kills?
2001
The city exports how many tons of garbage a day?
11,000 tons
To what states does New York export its trash?
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio
What country is leading in recycling?
Japan
What percent of its municipal waste does Japan recycle?
50%
What percent of its municipal waste does Japan incinerate?
20%
One issue of the New York Times kills how many trees?
75,000
What is the most difficult part about recycling?
Separation of waste.
Ex. Most of the 25 billion plastic bottles sold
yearly in the U.S. are made of PET (polyethylene
terephthalate). PET can be melted and remanufactured
into carpet, fleece clothing and nonfood packaging.
BUT, if one PVC bottle gets into the load by mistake, the
PET becomes useless.
What are beer companies considering?
Beer companies are considering plastic bottles that will
have to be dark. This could produce a new
environmental problem. Glass and aluminum are easier
to recycle.
Composting
Natural decomposition to reduce organic debris to a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
How many tons of animal waste is in the U.S. from feedlots?
6 million tons
TCP
Thermal Conversion Process; It is a
method of pressure cooking organic
wastes in hydrocarbons or fuel.
Demanufacturing
The disassembly and recycling of obsolete products such as TVs, computers, refrigerators, air conditions, and other electronics and appliances.
________ and ________ are the fastest growing components of the global waste stream.
Appliances and electronics
What components are in a typical computer and how much are they worth?
Gold;$6
Copper;$5
Silver;$1
How many states have passed legislation to control disposal of computers and appliances.
29
Reuse
Means cleaning and reusing materials in their present form. Ex. a reusable, refillable bottle. Glass bottles can make an average of 15 round trips between factory and customer before becoming so scratched or chipped that they have to be recycled.
What is one of the greatest form of waste?
Excess packaging of food and consumer products
To reduce waste, prefer what four things?
1: No packaging
2: Minimal packaging
3: Reusable packaging
4: Recyclable packaging
Photodegradable Plastic
Break down when exposed to UV light
Biodegradable Plastic
Usually contains cornstarch and it can be broken down by microorganisms.
What are drink makers doing today?
Softdrink makers use less aluminum in their cans and plastic
bottle makers use less plastic.
How many million metric tons of waste are officially classified as hazardous by the EPA annually?
265 million metric tons
What is the biggest source of hazardous and toxic waste?
Chemical and petroleum industry
Between 1950 and 1975, how many billion tons of hazardous chemicals were improperly disposed of?
5 billion tons
Hazardous Waste
Any discarded material (solid or liquid) that is known to be:
- fatal to humans or lab animals in low doses.
- toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic.
- ignitable with a flash point less than 60°C.
- corrosive
- explosive or highly reactive
Most hazardous waste is _____, ______, ______, or ______ of on site by generators.
Recycled; Converted; Stored; Disposed
RCRA (rickra): Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
1976, Requires rigorous testing and management of
hazardous waste. Demands strict accounting from generation to disposal.
CERCLA or Superfund Act: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Originally passed in 1980
Amended in 1984 under the amendment SARA
(Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act)
SARA (Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act)
This amendment focused on rapid containment, cleanup or
remediation of abandoned toxic waste sites. Includes
community right-to-know access. Gave EPA the power
to take emergency action when threat is perceived. Then
EPA can sue land owner for costs.
TRI
Toxic Release Inventory; Requires 20,000 manufacturing facilities to report annually on release of more than 300
toxic materials, mandated by SARA
Superfund Site
A location placed on the NPL (National Priority List) for environmental cleanup that is eligible for federal funds.
By 2007, how many superfund sites were on the National Priority List?
1,680 sites
Superfund
A revolving pool of money used to provide emergency funds for cleanup of hazardous sites or to remediate abandoned or inactive hazardous sites.
At what amount did the Superfund peak?
$3.6 billion
What are 10 substances of primary concern?
Lead Trichloroethylene Toluene Benzene PCBs Chloroform Phenol Arsenic Cadmium Chromium Ex. Love Canal, NY was an open dump where 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste was buried and later a housing development was built on top. Citizens were afflicted with health problems.
Brownfield
A large area of contaminated property. As a result, the land becomes abandoned or is not used to its potential due to real or suspected contamination.
What are two problems caused by brownfields?
Brownfields are real estate and insurance problems.
Sometimes current landowners are forced to pay for
cleanup that they did not cause.
EPA cleanup standards are HIGH. Cleaned soil must be
safe for children to play in, even eat (every day for 70
years) without harm.
What are the processes to make hazardous waste less toxic?
- Physical treatment
- Incineration
- Chemical processing
- Bioremediation
Physical Treatment
Using charcoal or resin filters to absorb toxins, distillation, precipitation, or combining radioactive substances with glass.
Incineration
Wastes are heated at very high temps for a long period of time
Chemical Processing
Transforms chemicals into a nontoxic form. Includes neutralization, removal of metals and oxidation.
Bioremediation
Uses biological agents and microorganisms to absorb or detoxify compounds. Natural bioremediators are water hyacinths and cattails.
Retrievable Storage
Placing waste storage containers
in a secure place (building, salt mine, cavern) where it
can be periodically inspected or retrieved.
This method is not terribly expensive but the downside is
vandalism or terrorism.
Secure Landfills
A landfill with a thick bottom cushion
of clay and a layer of gravel over the thick clay liner as
well as a thick plastic liner. Leachate is collected and
monitored. Surrounding wells are monitored for
contamination.
In 2006, ___ tons of toxic waste were illegally dumped at __ open dumps in Abidjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast.
400; 14
Where is Fresh Kills located?
Staten Island, New York
Refuse-derived Fuel
Refuse is sorted as it comes in to remove unburnable or recyclable materials before combustion
Mass Burn
Dumping everything smaller than sofas and refrigerators into a giant furnace and burn as much as possible
Dioxin levels in fly ash can be as much as ___ parts per billion
780
What is the most toxic dioxin?
TCDD/Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
