CUE - Urban Waste and its Disposal Flashcards
6 sources of waste
residential/domestic industrial commercial institutional construction and demolition urban services
domestic waste generators
households
industrial waste generators
manufacturing
power plants
construction
commercial waste generators
shops
offices
hotels
restaurants
institutional waste generators
schools
prisons
hospitals
construction and demolition waste generators
building sites
roadworks
urban services waste generators
street sweeping
transport
landscaping
waste water treatment
types of domestic solid waste
food electronics plastic paper textiles glass wood leather
types of industrial solid waste
wood food ashes metal packaging hazardous waste
types of commercial solid waste
food paper plastic electronics glass metals hazardous waste wood
types of institutional solid waste
food medical waste plastic wood glass metals ashes paper
types of construction and demolition solid waste
cement metal tiles wood concrete dirt bricks
types of urban services solid waste
food metals plastic vegetation street sweepings sludge litter
issues with domestic waste
it isn’t always recycled
some needs to be carefully disposed of
issues with industrial waste
toxic
radioactive
careful disposal required
issues with construction and demolition waste
inert waste
what is the overall trend between amount of waste produced and country income group?
the lower the country income group the less waste generated
explanation behind the pattern between waste generated and country income group?
as a country develops, more waste is produced. when higher levels of development are reached, a tipping point is reached and sustainability can become a priority
issues caused by waste in urban areas
inadequate waste disposal linked to air and water pollution, negatively impacting health
increasingly expensive to deal with waste - space for landfill is running out, incineration is costly
estimated to account for almost 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions (landfill methane 12% of methane emissions)
why does waste increase by 7% per year?
population growth and greater economic development, as greater personal wealth increases consumption of goods and services.
3 factors that affect the nature of waste and its journey from source to disposal
economic characteristics
lifestyle
attitudes
what is the waste stream?
the complete flow of waste from its domestic, commercial or industrial source, through to recovery, recycling or final disposal
difference between waste streams in HICs and LICs / NEEs
in HICs they are increasingly regulated and managed
in most LICs and NEEs it is common for MSW to be indiscriminately and improperly dumped without treatment
environmental issues caused by the improper dumping of MSW
loss of recyclable materials loss of potential resources contamination of land and water bodies multiple risks to human health air pollution
why do urban dwellers produce more rubbish than people living in rural areas?
globally, rural dwellers tend to be poorer, have higher levels of reuse and recycling, and purchase fewer shop bought items, so have less packaging
why is waste generation higher in cities in HICs?
waste generation increases as disposable incomes and living standards increase
why do middle income cities produce more waste than high and low income cities?
in the midst of economic growth, consumption appears to overtake sustainability and it is not controlled until a city becomes competitively wealthy
factors affecting the composition of waste
energy sources cultural norms levels of economic development climate geographical location
impacts of increasing waste generation
water, ground and air pollution costs of collecting and treating waste health problems city authorities struggling to collect increasing quantities of waste cities are running out of space
why does increasing waste generation cause water, ground and air pollution?
waste is a large source of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas
example of how increasing waste generation causes high costs of collecting and treating waste
in lower income countries urban authorities may spend 20-50% of their budget on solid waste management
how doe increasing waste generation impact health problems?
people can get cholera, diarrhoea and dengue fever from untreated or uncollected waste
example of how increasing waster generation impacts on space in cities
in 2015 the closure of the landfill site south east of Beirut cause a political crisis. rubbish collector piled of mountains of untested waste, leading to civil protests
example of how city authorities are struggling to collect increasing quantities of waste
in 2012, 30-60% of urban solid waste in LICs was uncollected. only 40% of daily waste in Cairo is collected and disposed of appropriately
advantages of incineration
can reduce volume of waste needing disposal by 90%
cost effective once constructed and operational
long life span
can reduce toxicity of waste
can be used to produce energy
disadvantages of incineration
expensive
unpopular with neighbouring residents
poses challenges of air pollution - CO2 is a greenhouse gas, particulate emission require managing and chimney emissions can be toxic
poses challenges of bottom ash disposal
advantages of landfill
facilities are properly cited with necessary controls (in HICs)
different types of waste accepted and ordered
good use of abandoned quarries
methane can be vented and used as a fuel
on reaching capacity can be sealed, top-soiled and landscaped for recreational use
cost effective and safe is managed efficiently
disadvantages of landfill
unsightly
unpopular with neighbouring residents
unpleasant smell
attracts vermin, flies and scavenging birds
wind blown material becomes unsightly litter
potential leaching of chemicals threatens groundwater supply
decaying matter produces methane (greenhouse gas, explosive)
takes up a lot of space
generates heavy, dirty, lorry traffic
waste management hierarchy
reduce reuse recycle recover landfill incineration controlled dump
waste diversion strategies
reduce
reuse
recycle
recover
3 ways to reduce the amount of waste
waste related legislation
financial incentives
education
what is WEEE
waste electrical and electronic equipment
what’s the world’s fastest growing waste stream?
e-waste
what happens to Manila’s waste?
10% is recycled or composted
4/5ths of the remaining MSW is collected and taken to landfill sites
the rest is burned or dumped illegally
what is the largest landfill site in Manila?
payatas - 6 mountains of rubbish tens of meters high covering 200 hectares
what happened to payatas in July 2000?
it was officially closed after a collapse during a rainstorm killed over 200 people p
who lives around payatas?
more than 80,000 slum dwellers
living conditions of the slum dwellers at payatas
they live blighted by stench, their drinking water contaminated by heavy metals, lubricants and solvents
over 400 waste pickers face severe health problems including typhoid, hepatitis and cholera
description of unregulated waste
disposal that is not controlled of supervised by regulation of law. usually land filling or incineration in HICs and open du ps is LICs and MICs
disadvantages of unregulated waste disposal
insects, vermin and scavenging animals pas son air and water borne diseases
contamination of groundwater and surface water by leachate
higher diarrhoea and a cute respiratory infections
description of recycling
carried out when materials from which the items are made can be reprocessed into new products.
description of recovery
reproduce recovery is the selective extraction of disposed materials for a specific next use, such as recycling, composting or energy generation
advantages of recycling
manufacturing new products in using recycled materials saves energy e.g producing aluminium from recycled aluminium requires 95% less energy than producing it from virgin materials.
reduced quantities of disposed waste
return of materials to economy
disadvantages of recycling
material recovery requires energy leading to greenhouse gas emissions
if informal recyclers improperly burn materials when processing them for reuse or sale, greenhouse gas emissions can be high
advantages of recovery
reduced quantities of disposed waste
returns materials to the economy
disadvantages of recovery
material recovery requires energy, leading to greenhouse gas emissions
description of submergence
dumping of waste in oceans e.g some companies are dumping radioactive and hazardous waste in the coastal waters of Somalia. in order to minimise ecological impacts on the sea bed, most dredged material is dumped at established sites or used for beach nourishment of land reclamation
description of trade
waste may be moved between countries. the global waste trade is the international trade of waste between countries for further treatment, disposal or recycling
disadvantages of submergence
negative ecological impacts on sea bed
water pollution
harmful to marine organisms
disadvantages of trade
inadequate regulation has allows many NEEs and LICs to become toxic dumps for hazardous waste, leading to native health effects. LICs and NEEs often don’t have safe recycling processes or facilities and hazardous wastes aren’t properly disposed of or treated. workers may process toxic waste with their bare hands leading to illness and death. the surrounding environment may also be poisoned with disastrous effect on natural ecosystems
