Waste Flashcards
What is used to line the bottom of landfills?
Clay, so that toxic metals (lead, mercury) aren’t leaced through.
What is a liquid containing an elevated level of pollutants as a result of passing through a landfill
Leachate
What are the ways waste can be disposed?
Incineration, recycling, landfills
What things are okay to dispose in a landfill?
Cardboard, woods, paper, plastic, food, glass
What is not okay to dispose in a landfill?
Electronics, batteries, wires, copper, aluminum, and organic waste (food) that produce methane
What type of building does most waste come from?
Domestic buildings (homes)…. 60%. Industrial buildings make up 20%
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
Solid waste collected by municipalities produced by houses and businesses, and institutions such as schools prisons, municipal buildings and hospitals.
What makes up solid municipal waste
Paper, food, and yard waste make up more than half:
23% paper/cardboard
12% yard trimmings
22% food
12% plastics
6% wood
9% metals
2% electronics.
Developed countries produce a lot ___ municipal waste
More… .8kg to 2.2kg
Solid waste producing has ___ in agriculture, residence, buisness, and industrial activities.
Increased. We used to recycle more, but now manufacture single use objects.
Waste stream
The flow of solid waste that is recycled, incinerated, placed in a solid landfill, or disposed in some other way.
Sanitary landfills
An engineered ground facility designed to hold municipal Solid waste with as little contamination do the surrounding environment as possible.
Toxic materials include
Household cleaners, oil based paints, and automotive additives
Landfills are closed with _____ cap in order to
A mix of soil, clay and plastic to encourage water to flow off to the sides rather than into the landfill
Tipping fee
A fee charged for trucks that deliver and tip solid waste into a landfill or incinerator.
The soil of a landfill should be
loam, clay loam, or soil lined with clay/plastic.
Landfills should be build far way from people, but
lower-income neighborhoods who don’t have the resources to mount an effective opposition against landfills.
Candidates for incineration include
Paper, plastic, food, and yard waste since they all contain hydrogen, oxygen and carbon.
Incineration
Process of burning solid waste in order to reduce volume, mass, and sometimes produce electricity and heat.
First step in incineration
Recyclable material are sorted out, and waste with high concentrations of metals are sorted out.
Second step in incineration
Waste is combusted to release water, carbon dioxide, and produces ash as by-product. Air pollutant emissions are prevented with baghouse filters- and scrubbers.
Third step in incineration
Disposal of ash. Low concentrations go to landfill, higher concentrations of toxic medals go to landfill specifically for toxic substances.
Compounds (nitrogen/sulfur oxides) found in plastic/metal in waste and other emissions are controlled by ___, while hydrogen chloride is collected through a
Collectors - baghouse filters-
Waste-to-energy system
Heat generated from incineration is used as energy source rather than released into the surrounding environment.
Since the ocean circulates
there are trash piles circulating the Northern Hemisphere of the ocean.
Electronic waste is more expensive to
recycle than to put in a landfill
Downside of incineration
Plants are expensive to build + tipping fees are higher, ash has concentrated minerals, air pollution, and uneven combustion.
Majority of hazardous waste is from
industrial processes such as textile production, cleaning machinery, + small businesses like dry cleaners, automobile service stations + household batteries, oven cleaners, and fertilizers….
“special waste” (coal ash) from combustion of fossil fuels.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CRCLA) A.K.A. Superfund Act
A 1980 federal act that imposes a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries, uses those funds for cleanup of abandoned and non-operating hazardous waste sites, and authorizes the federal government to respond directly to the release or threatened release of substances that may pose a threat to human health or the environment.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
1976 federal act that maintains “cradle-to-grave” tracking, keeps a list of hazardous wastes and works with businesses and state and local authorities to both minimize hazardous waste generation and track the waste until disposal.
Four characteristics of hazardous waste (cause harm)
Ignitability, toxicity, corrosivity,and reactivity.
Toxicity (cause harm through chemical means)
Chemical components that are harmful or fatal when ingested or absorbed through skin - a category of hazardous waste that causes harm when ingested or absorbed through skin)
E-waste contains
heavy metals like mercury and lead
Open Landfill Cons
-Poor containment of solid waste and leachate
-Odor
-Flammable
-Animal Disturbance
-Poor aesthetic value
Landfills are a significant produce of ___ gas
Methane- 15%
Can dispose of methane from landfills by
Lighting it on fire (changes to CO2) or using it for energy.
Legislation that applies to incineration
Clean Air Act- air pollution from incineration must be controlled. Carbon dioxide is not part of this legislation.
Problem associated with tires
Tires create breeding grounds for mosquitoes (shallow water), which carry diseases like malaria (are disease vectors)
Tires can catch fire and release air pollutants that cause respiratory illness in humans
Solid waste in ocean problems
-Organisms caught in necks- unable to reach surface to breath, hunt, and eat.
Mistake trash (plastic bag) as food, clog digestive system/think they are full
-Plastic breaks down into microplastics bioaccumulate in organism and food chain.
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBS)
Which best describes why hazardous waste disposal in the US could become an international issue?
lower disposal costs elsewhere encourage US industries to export waste
Household hazardous waste includes
items such as paints and oils
electronic waste is more expensive to
recycle than to put in a landfill
