Waste Management

Early Concepts of Waste Disposal

• Start of Industrial Revolution, the volume of waste produced in the US was relatively small.

• Factories located near water.

• Few factories and a sparse population

Early Concepts of Waste Disposal

• As industrial and urban areas expanded, the concept became “concentrate and contain”

• People are facing a serious solid-waste disposal problem.

Modern Trends

• Environmentally correct concept is to consider wastes as resources out of place.

• Industrial ecology

Modern Trends

• Countries have moved to cut waste by imposing taxes.

• Waste to energy

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Ultimate objective of the three R’s is to reduce.

• The amount of refuse disposed of in landfills or incinerated can be reduced by at least 50%

• Reduction facilitated by

Recycling of Human Waste

• The use of human waste or “night soil” on croplands is an ancient practice.

Materials Management

• Futuristic waste management has the goal of zero production of waste.

Composition of Solid Waste

• Paper is by far the most abundant content.

• Excavations into modern landfills using archeological tools

Waste Reduction

Waste Disposal

• Open Dumps

• Sanitary Landfills

Site Selection

• A number of factors must be taken into consideration when selecting a site, including:

How Pollutants Can Enter the Environment from Sanitary Landfills

Federal Legislation for Sanitary Landfills

• Provisions of federal standards include the following:

Ocean Dumping

• Oceans have long been dumping grounds for many types of waste, including industrial waste, construction debris, urban sewage, and plastics

Ocean Dumping

• Marine pollution can have major impacts on people and society.