solid waste. solid waste hazardous waste – poses danger to human health industrial waste – comes...
TRANSCRIPT
Solid Waste• Hazardous Waste – poses danger to human health• Industrial Waste – comes from manufacturing• Municipal Waste – household waste
Reduce – Reuse - Recycle• Reduce – minimizing disposal waste• Reuse – get products that can be used over and over
again for their purpose• Recycle – give materials “another life”
• Primary Recycling – used to rebuild the same product (Plastic, Aluminum)
• Secondary Recycling – materials are used for lower quality goods – tires to form a track, plastic bottles to make decking materials
• Composting – other animals may eat, or…organic materials get decomposed and return to environment (reduces smell form garbage)
EPA 2012 DATA:
Material % of material that is recycled
Lead-acid batteries 95.9
Steel can 70.8
Newspaper 70
Yard Trimmings 57.7
Soda cans 54.6
Tires 44.6
Glass 34.1
Pet bottles 30.8
Electonics 29.2
“Old Landfills”• No one wanted close to their home• No regulation• No testing for leachate – fluid at bottom of landfill
“Heaps of Garbage”
Modern Landfills• Federal laws prohibit them from being located near faults,
floodplains, or wetlands• Holes lined with membranes, and clay (impermeable)• Frequently covered with soil • Leachate is piped to “pond” and closely monitored• Gases from site are piped and used to make electricity• When hole is filled, it must be closed and capped,
monitoring continues
Hazardous WasteTracking of hazardous materials from “Cradle to Grave” through the RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)• Corrosive – waste that corrodes metal• Ignitable – Substances such as alcohol and gasoline that can
catch on fire• Reactive – Chemically unstable or react readily with other
compounds• Toxic – creates health risks when inhaled, injected, or absorbed
Disposal of Hazardous Waste• Landfills – special areas that are heavily monitored, higher
standards (liquids)• Deep well injections – hole dug below water table
Radioactive Waste, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
• Not NIMBY• Can keep secure• Previous nuclear
testing ahs been done there
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant • Receives TransUranic Waste (TRU) – waste left over from
the building of nuclear weapons
Low level vs high level waste• EPA lists• High Level – reactor waste, repossessing nuclear fuel,
mining of uranium ore• Low level – industrial, research, natural materials
LegislationHazardous Materials Transportation Act – 1975 – required ID plaques, monitors haz transport
Resources Conservation and Recovery Act – 1976 – control of haz waste “cradle to grave” ; encourages states to handle non hazardous municipal/hazardous waste – prohibit open dumping
Toxic Substances Control Act – 1976 - gave EPA authority to track and control industrial chemicals
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) – 1980 - create tax for clean up, allows federal government ability to respond directly for haz clean-up, provides liability guidelines, trust fund for clean – up
Nuclear Waste Policy Act – 1982 – set up federal government to provide site for nuclear waste