(no subject)
· Where does solid waste come from?
o More developed countriesàmore solid waste
o LA. 6.6 lb/person/day
o NY 3.96 lb/p/d
o Tokyo, 3.04
o Paris, 2.42
o Hong Kong 1.87
o Rome 1.52
o Pakistan 1.32
o Indonesia 1.21
o India 1.12
o Columbia 1.1
o Nigeria 1.01
· What we do with waste
o Landfill 73%
o Incinerating 14%
o Recycling 13%
· EPA wants us to change them all to recycling
Landfills
· Dumps in LDC’s,
o Unsightly, vermin, insects, disease etc.
· Landfills in MDC’s
Landfills more sanitary less visible
Layers of dirt and trash
Dirt reduces nuisance
Problems
Lechate
Garbage juice
Liners or pipes for drainage
Fill up fast
Methane
Some cities harvest it
Lack of appropriate sites
Florida
Lechate won’t be good
BOWASH
60 million people
Not a lot of room
NIMBY
Property values
Odor
Trucks
Birds
Rising land costs
Shipped to Louisiana, New Mexico, Georgia, Carolinas
Some cities use landfills
Cover with clay and use them
Myth or Fact
University of Arizona Garbologist
Landfill is mostly Diapers
Diapers are just 1-2% by weight
Most paper is news paper
True second most is phone books
Things decompose rapidly in landfills
False, little oxygen in lower levels, food scraps and yard waste degrade only 20-50% in 10 years, the rest becomes mummified
Plastics are a major culprit
12% by volume
Grass Decomposition Lab
Water expedites decomposition
So does oxygen, but landfills don’t have that because of the layers of dirt or compression
Recycling
Some offer paper only, some # 1-3, others offer green recycling
Converting people
New York and New Jersey offer tax credits, grants etc to companies that produce recycled goods or make products that can be recycled.
Still voluntary
Not in Germany
New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Japan has 7 categories
We have to choose products made with recycled materials in addition to recycling (closing the loop)
Incineration
More than 700 after WWII, less now
1990, 128
1000 world wide
Pros
Volume reduction, just landfill ash
Heat as an energy source
Cons
Ash is concentrated toxins
Air pollution, emissions
Expensive
In conclusion
EPA wants more recycling and incineration and fewer landfills
Buy recycled products
Reduce consumption
Integrated waste management system
Reduce reuse recycle