CUE Bk6 - Urban Waste and Disposal Flashcards
What are the 2 key reasons for increased waste currently?
- population increase (8 bil 2023)
- increased wealth
How much (%) does environmental waste contribute to total green house gas emissions12%?
5%
Out of all global methane emissions, what does methane in land fill count as, as a %?
12%
What is MSW and what does it stand for?
Municipal Solid Waste
House hold waste (Kg/person/day) but doesn’t include industrial, medical, agricultural or radioactive waste
Figures for urban residents in 2002 and expected 2025 + correlating MSW (kg/person/day)
Also
- % incr in population
- x ? Of MSW
2002
2.9 bil + 0.4 MSW
2025
4.3 bil + 1.42 MSW
= 50% incr in population
= 3x MSW
What are the temporal changes leading to more waste in urban areas?
- incr in wealth everywhere
- industrialisation in lower income areas
What are the spatial changes leading to more waste in urban areas?
- LICs and MICs growing fastest (rate of urbanisation)
- rural to urban migration
- natural increase
- incr waste per capita due to incr wealth
- HICs low levels of urbanisation due to its high % already
What are the 6 key sources of waste?
- Residential
- Industrial
- Commercial
- Institutional e.g. hospitals + schools
- Constructional + demolition (up to 40% in some cities)
- Urban services
What % of waste in LICs was reported by The World Bank in 2012 to never have been reported?
30-60%
How does a lack of collection of waste lead to bad health?
X2 likelihood of diarrhoea
X6 respiratory inflections
In England, how many tonnes of waste is produced annually?
177 million
How much does the average person produce of household waste per year? (Kg)
500kg
What % of LICs budget is on waste disposal?
20-50%
What are the 4 key England targets which have been set by DEFRA?
- 40% household waste to be recycled/composted by 2015
- 50% by 2020
- EU set limits on amount of biodegradable waste that can enter landfill. To reach this target, the UK government imposes a £32 per tonne tax
- 2042 - no plastics?
Why is there currently no data on commercial and industrial waste + there are no targets for these aspects of waste
The current data does not allow the total amount of waste to be measured regularly so it is not possible to set a measurable target at present
What is the definition of waste stream?
The journal of waste from source to disposal
What is the definition of global waste trade?
The international trade of waste between countries for its disposal, recycling and further treatment
Definition of WEEE?
And where is the most from + what measured in
Waste electrical and electronic equipment
50 million tonnes/year
Most for the USA and Europe
Definition of urban mining
Process of recovering compounds/ elements that would have gone to landfill
What is the order in how to deal with waste? (6 aspects)
- Prevention
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
- Energy recovery
- Disposal
PLASTIC BAG LEVEE
1. When did it occur in England
2. How many plastic bags given out by supermarkets in 2013
3. What % reduction did wales see in the first 3 years
4. What % reduction had the UK main supermarket stores seen by 2023
5. How much was the levee in 2015 and 2021
6. Estimated benefits in next 10 years
- 5th October 2015
- 8 billion
- 79%
- 90%
- 2015 = 5p
- 2021 = 10p
- expected overall benefit of over £780 mil to UK economy
- up to £730 mil raised for good causes
- £60 mil savings in litter clean up costs
- carbon savings of £13 mil
Examples of the reuse strategy
- deposit returns for drinks bottles (2025)
Barriers to recycling
- inconvenient e.g. crisp packets
- storage issue
- lack of education - don’t care
- lack of faith in system
What is the total diversion rate?
The amount of material (kg/HH/Yr) that is recycled and/or composted instead of going to landfill
SUBMARINE DUMPING
- When was sewage sludge banned
- When was radioactive waste banned
- What are the 2 things that can be dumped in the oceans
- 1998
- 1999
- Fish waste + inert materials of natural origin (rock/mining waste)
Advantages of landfill
- quick and convenient
- easily managed
- use of abandoned quarries
- methane can be vented + used as fuel
- when capacity reached area can be used for recreation
- cost effective
Disadvantages of Landfill
- requires large amount of waste land
- attracts vermin + flies
- anaerobic decay
- high transport costs
- lack of suitable sites
- NIMBY’s
Advantages of Incineration
- volume can be reduced by 90%
- can reduce toxicity
- can inactive disease agents
- energy produced
- long lifespan
- cost effective after construction
- medical waste
Disadvantages of Incineration
- particulate emissions need managing
- CO2
- ash disposal
- expensive
- unpopular - health concerns
