Evolution of Solid Waste Management General Solid wastes are the wastes arising from human activities and are normally solid as opposed to liquid or gaseous and are discarded as useless or unwanted. Focused on <a href="/keyword/municipal-solid-waste/" >municipal solid waste</a> (MSW) as opposed to agricultural, mining and industrial wastes. Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) is the term applied to all the activities associated with the management of society's wastes. In medieval times, wastes discarded in the streets led to the breeding of rats and the associated fleas which carried the bubonic plague. The lack of management of solid wastes thus led to the Black Plague which killed half of 14th century Europe. Improper management of solid wastes has direct effects on health. US public health service (USPHS) has traced 22 human diseases to improper solid waste management. The uncontrolled fermentation of garbage creates a food source and habitat for bacterial growth. In the same environment, insects, rodents and some bird species (seagulls) proliferate and act as passive vectors in the transmission of some infectious diseases. Solid wastes also have a great potential to pollute the air and water. Liquid from dumps and poorly engineered landfills has contaminated surface waters and groundwaters. In mining areas the liuid leached from waste dumps contain toxic elements such as copper, arsenic and uranium. Technological advances - Increased use of plastics and fast, pre-prepared foods. Major increase in solid <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> problems occurs with the increase in advancement of technology. Continuing changes present problems to the facility designers because engineering structure for processing of solid waste involve large capital expenditures and must be functional for approximately 25 years. An important concern in the development of ecologically sound and health promoting ways for the management of the millions of tonnes of urban solid waste that are generated (1.2 million tonnes per day from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 1995). 1.8 billion tonnes of waste are produced in the EU each year (i.e. 3.8 tonnes per person in 2000 in the EU-15 and 5 tonnes per person in central and eastern Europe (Eurostat, 2000)). Total waste generation in the EU-15 increased by nearly 13% between 1990 and 2000. Currently, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produce about 230 million tons of MSW annually--approximately 4.6 pounds per person per day. In 2002, the residential component of Canada's waste was estimated at just over 12 million tonnes, a 6.8% increase from 2000. The total was equivalent to about 383 kg per person. In the domestic environment the solid wastes include paper, plastic, food wastes, ash, etc. also included are 'liquid wastes' including paints, old medicines, spent oils, etc. Commercially, paper packaging, timber and plastic containers make up the bulk. Liquid-solid sludge from industry and water/wastewater plants are within this definition. Table 1. Viral, bacterial and protozoal pathogens in faecal contaminated solid wastes: Pathogen Organism Disease Reservoir Viruses Poliovirus Poliovirus Man Hepatitis A Hepatitis A Man Hepatitis B Hepatitis B Man Bacteria Compylobacterfetus sp Diarrhoea Animals and man Pathogenic E. coli Diarrhoea Man Salmonella S. typhi Typhoid fever Man Salmonella S. paratyphi Paratyphoid fever Man Other salmonella Food poisoning Animal and man Shingella spp Bacillary dysentery Man Vibrio cholera Cholera Man Other vibrio Diarrhoea Man Yersinia entercolitica Diarrhoea Animals and man Protozoa Balantidium coli Diarrhoea, Man, pigs and rats dysentery amoebic dysentery, liver abscess Giardia lamblia Helminths Flat worms Round worms Tape worms Trematodes Diarrhpea and malabsorption Digestive disorders Man and animals Man and animals Materials Flow and Waste Generation Materials Flow Solid waste generation in our technological society is according to the following schematic Raw materials Manufacturing Residual debris Residual waste material Processing and recovery Secondary manufacturing Consumer Final disposal Raw materials, products, and recovered materials Waste materials Solid wastes are generated at the start of the process, beginning with the mining of raw materials. Therafter soild wastes are generated at every step in the process as raw materials are converted to goods for consumption. To reduce the waste to be disposed is to limit the consumption of raw materials and to increase the rate of recovery and reuse of waste materials. Unlike water-borne and air-dispersed wastes, solid waste will not go away and will be found where it is thrown. Questions to answer: Which elements of society generate the greatest quantities of solid waste and what is the nature of these wastes? How can the quantities be minimized? What is the role of the resource recovery? Can disposal and recovery technology keep up with the consumer product technology? Solid Waste Management Brief history: The most commonly recognized methods for the final disposal of solid wastes at the turn of century were (i) dumping on land, (ii) dumping in water, (iii) plowing into the soil, (iv) feeding to hogs, (v) reduction, and (vi) incineration. Not all these methods were applicable to all types of wastes. Plowing into the soil was used for food wastes and street sweepings, whereas feeding to hogs and reduction were used specifically for food wastes. Timeline: In 500 BC, Athens organized the first municipal landfill in the western world and required <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> to be at least one mile from city walls. In 1888, English parliament puts a ban on <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> in public waterways and ditches. <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> methods involved simply throwing garbage out of windows and doors. A new invention in Nottingham, England called &quot;The Destructor&quot; provides the first incineration of MSW. The first incinerator in the US is built on Governor's Island, New York. In 1898, Colonel Waring, New York City street cleaning commissioner, creates a solid waste management program that ends ocean dumping, institutes mandatory household separation of wastes, and begins the first recycling program. In 1899, the Rivers and Harbors Act began requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to regulate the dumping of debris in navigable waters and adjacent lands. <a href="/keyword/municipal-solid-waste/" >municipal solid waste</a> Management becomes a norm in 1902. By this time, 72% of US cities provided trash collection. In 1916, US cities switched from horsedrawn waste collection vehicles to motorized ones. Through the 1940's, Americans collected rubber, paper, scrap metal fats, and tin cans in order to help the war effort. Sanitary landfilling began early 1940s in the United States and a decade earlier in the United Kingdom. Functional elements of a waste management system: Six functional elements: (i) waste generation, (ii) waste handling and separation, storage, and processing at the source, (iii) collection, (iv) separation and processing and transformation of solid wastes, (v) transfer and transport, and (vi) disposal. (i) generation, materials are identified as being no longer value storage, management of wastes until they are put into a container Waste generation is at present is not very controllable. In the future more control will be exercised on the generation. (ii) Separation of waste components is an important step in the handling and storage of solid waste at the source. For recovery of the materials, best place to separate them is at home. Cost of storage at the source is normally borne by the homeowner or apartment owner. (iii) Collection, gathering of solid wastes and recyclable materials and the transport of these materials where the collection vehicle is emptied. Collection accounts for almost 50% or higher of the total cost of urban solid waste management. Typically, collection is provided under various management arrangements, ranging from municipal services to franchised private services conducted under various forms of contracts. (iv) processing of source separated (at the home) vs. commingled (everything together) is a big issue. Includes: physical processes such as shredding and screening, removal of bulky material, compaction, separation of ferrous metals using magnet, chemical and biological processes such as incineration and composting. (v) transfer and transport, small trucks to the biggest trucks allowable, rail cars, barges, tractor-trailer (vi) disposal of solid waste, landfilling with or without attempting to recover resources in a manner that is in accord with: - public health - economics - engineering - conservation - aesthetics - public attitudes Waste Generation Waste handling, separation, storage and processing at the source Collection Transfer and Transport Separation and processing and transformation of solid <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) ISWM When all of the functional elements have been evaluated for use, and all of the interfaces and connections between elements have been matched for effectiveness and economy, defines as the selection and application of suitable techniques, technologies and management programs to achieve specific waste management objectives and goals. Hierarchy - adopted by EPA to rank actions: - source reduction, most useful, may involve design of packaging with minimum toxic content, minimum volume or a longer useful life. - recycling - waste combustion (transformation), physical, chemical and biological alteration of the waste for the purposes of: - improving efficiency - recover reusable material, glass - recover conversion products, compost - landfilling, material that: - cannot be recycled - has no further use - residual matter attendant to another process, ash left over after combustion Waste Prevention and minimization Recycling and reuse Transformation Landfill Figure 1. Hierarchy of integrated solid waste management The priority in a waste management policy is to reduce the amount of waste Regular 'waste audits' by various producers and consumers can identify areas for improvement Recycling and reuse is a 'green' topic finding greater acceptance by industry. The more obvious areas of recycling of paper, glass, metals and plastic are, as yet, untapped in many countries. About 17 million Canadians have access to recycling. Table 1: EC and US waste management hierarchy: Hierarchy EU/North America 1 Source reduction 2 Recycling/ composting 3 Incineration: a) With energy recovery b) Without energy recovery 4 Landfilling Legislations While the legal instruments are significant, there has been much procrastination in adherence to the law, particularly by government agencies and responsible authorities. Areas in the United States and northern Europe are able to adhere to the legislation by utilizing advanced treatment and disposal technologies. In the European Union, significant directives on solid waste are the directive on environmental assessment and the proposed directive on landfill. In the United Kingdom, solid <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> sites with input exceeding 75 000 tonnes/annum require an EIA. The landfill directive sets out parameters for landfill sites and containment principles with systems for landfill gas and leachate collection Strict waste acceptance criteria and procedures are set out for: Waste acceptance Chemical, physical and biological waste properties Suitability of wastes Waste loading rates Water, leachate and gas control Water balance and groundwater protection Rivers and Harbors Act, 1899, regulated the dumping of debris in navigable waters and adjacent land. The idea was to protect navigation. Solid <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> Act, 1965, PL89-272, - The intent was: - Promote solid waste management and resource recovery. - Promote technical and financial aid - Promote national research. - Provide for guidelines. - Provide for training grants. - Enforcement was by US public health service (USPHS). National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 1969 is an all-encompassing congressional law. It affects all projects that have some federal funding. The act specified the creation of the council on Environmental Quality in the office of the president and has the authority to force every federal agency to submit an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on every activity. Resource Recovery Act, 1970, PL95-512, amended the SW Disposal Act of 1965. Directed that the emphasis should be shifted from disposal as its primary objective to recycling and reuse, or to the conversion of wastes to energy. Management activities were transferred the US EPA from USPHS which was formed by presidential order under Reorganizational Plan No. 3 of 1970. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 1976, PL94-580. Legal basis for implementation of guidelines and standards for solid waste storage, treatment and disposal. RCRA was amended in 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1988. The 1980 and 1984 versions emphasized concern with hazardous waste. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 1980, (Superfund), PL96-510. Provide a means to response to uncontrolled hazardous <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> sites. - Ancillary laws: Public Utility Regulation and Policy Act (PURPA), 1981. Directs public and private utilities to purchase power from waste-to-energy facilities Noise Pollution and Abatement Act, 1970. Limits noise. Clean Air Act, 1970, PL91-604, (reauthorized in 1990), pertains where dust, smoke and gases discharged from solid waste operations are involved. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), Division 8: Control of the Movement of Hazardous Waste and Recyclable Material and Prescribed NonHazardous Waste for Final Disposal (Sections 185-192) The legistaions in the US and Europe are summarized in the following table Table 2: Solid waste legislation in the US and EU United States EU Directive Solid <a href="/keyword/waste-disposal/" >waste disposal</a> Act 1965 On waste 1975 National environment policy act 1969 On toxic and dangerous waste 1978 Resources recovery act 1970 Transfrontier shipment 1984, 1985, 1986 resources conservation and recovery act On environment assessment 1985 (RCRA) 1976 Comprehensive environmental response On access to information Compensation and liability act (CERCLA) On new MSW incineration plants 1980 (Superfund) 89/369/EEC On existing MSW incineration plants 89/429/EEC Public utility regulation and policy act Directive on landfill (1995) (PURPA) 1981 RCRA- response compensation liability 1994 Directive on packaging 93/C/285/01 California assembly bill 939, 1993 European waste catalogue 94/3/EEC Sources, Composition, and Properties of Solid Waste 1. Sources of Solid Waste MSW, <a href="/keyword/municipal-solid-waste/" >municipal solid waste</a> , is the primary focus of this course, which excludes industrial, mining and agricultural wastes. MSW is normally assumed to include all community wastes as shown in Table 3. Table 3: Sources and types of solid wastes: Source Facility Residential Single family dwelling, multifamily dwelling, low, medium and high-rise apartments Commercial Shops, restaurants, markets, office buildings, hotels and motels, institutions Schools, hospitals, prisons, governmental centers Street cleaning, landscaping, catch basin cleaning, parks and beaches Water, wastewater and Type of waste Food wastes, paper, packaging, glass, metals, ashes, bulky household waste, hazardous household waste Food, paper, packaging, glass, metal, ashes, hazardous waste As above in commercial Special wastes, rubbish, street sweepings, landscape and tree trimmings Plant wastes, principally Institutional Municipal services Treatment plant sites Agricultural Industrial industrial treatment processes Field and row crops, orchards Fabrication, light and heavy manufacturing, refineries, chemical plants, mining, power generation composed of residual sludge Spoiled food wastes, rubbish, hazardous wastes Industrial process wastes, metal, lumber, plastic, oils, hazardous wastes Soil, concrete, timber, steel, plastic, glass, dirt Construction and demolition A. Residential and Commercial Residential:Generated by the society: Organic (combustible) and inorganic (noncombustible) fraction; the organic fraction consists of food waste (also called garbage), paper of all types, corrugated cardboard, plastics of all types, textiles, rubber, leather, wood, and garden trimmings. The inorganic fraction consists of glass, crockery, tin and aluminum cans, ferrous metals and dirt. Commercial: stores, restaurants, hotels, car repair: paper, plastic. Commingled. Mixed wastes, not separated at the source. Putrescible, wastes that will decompose rapidly, especially in warm weather, primarily food. Waste paper in MSW is typically newspaper, books and magazine commercial printing, office paper, packaging, tissue, towels and corrugated cardboard. Plastics fall in seven categories, contain a numerical code, 1 through 7, which is stamped on the bottom of the container inside a small triangle as shown below. Plastic identification codes Type of plastic Common uses PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) PE-HD (High Density Polyethylene) Soft drink and water bottles, salad domes, biscuit trays, salad dressing and peanut butter containers Crinkly shopping bags, freezer bags, milk bottles, ice cream containers, juice bottles, shampoo, chemical and detergent bottles, buckets, rigid detergent bottles, rigid agricultural pipe, milk crates Symbol Could be recycled to Pillow and sleeping bag filling, clothing, soft drink bottles, carpet Recycling bins, compost bins, buckets, detergent containers, posts, fencing, pipe PVC-U (Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride) Cosmetic containers, electrical Flooring, film and conduit, plumbing pipes and sheets, cables, speed fittings, blister packs, wall bumps, packaging, cladding, roof sheeting, bottles binders, mud flaps and mats Garden hose, shoe soles, cable Flooring, film and PVC-P sheathing, blood bags and sheets, cables, speed (Plasticised Polyvinyl tubing, watch straps bumps, packaging, Chloride) binders, mud flaps and mats PE-LD (Low density Polyethylene) PP (Polypropylene) Plastic food wrap, garbage bags, squeeze bottles, black irrigation tube, black mulch film, garbage bins Dip pottles and ice cream tubs, potato chip bags, straws, microwave dishes, kettles, garden furniture, lunch boxes, blue packing tape CD cases, plastic cutlery, imitation 'crystal glassware', low cost brittle toys, video cases Rubbish bin liners, pallet sheets Pegs, bins, pipes, pallet sheets, oil funnels, car battery cases, trays Coat-hangers, coasters, whiteware, components, stationery trays and accessories PS (Polystyrene) PS-E (Expanded Polystyrene) Foamed polystyrene hot drink Coat hangers, cups, hamburger takeaway coasters, white ware, clamshells, foamed meat trays, components, protective packaging for fragile stationery trays and items accessories Car parts, appliance parts, computers, electronics, water cooler bottles, packaging Car parts, concrete aggregate, plastic timber Other - letters below the symbol indicate the ISO code for the plastic type Special Wastes: - Bulky items: furniture, lamps, consumer electronics includes worn-out, broken items such as radios, stereos, television etc. - Major appliances (stoves, refrigerators, dishwasher etc.) (white goods) - Batteries (alkaline, mercury, silver, zinc, nickel), lead-acid batteries from automobile, oil and tires (230 and 240 million rubber tires in the landfill in US). Household hazardous wastes: - paint - cleaners - bug and garden sprays B. Institutional and others Generated by government buildings, schools, prisons and hospitals. Does not include medical wastes which are typically incinerated and manufacturing wastes from prisons. Construction and Demolition. Road repair, sewer jobs, renovations: wood, concrete, steel, shingles, electrical parts. Municipal Services. Street cleaning, parks, catch basins: trimmings, food, paper, sweepings, dead animals, abandoned vehicles. Treatment Plant Sludges. C. Industrial Wastes SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes. Excludes process and hazardous wastes, metals, rubber, plastic, paper, wood, cloth, chemical residues, oils, solvents, adhesive, paints, resins. SIC 32 - Stone, clay and glass products from the manufacture of flat glass etc., yielding glass, gypsum (sulfur source) abrasives, etc. D. Agricultural Wastes Enormous quantities from planting, harvesting from row, field, tree and vine crops and animal husbandry, feedlots. Composition of <a href="/keyword/municipal-solid-waste/" >municipal solid waste</a> The residential and commercial component is typically 62% of MSW. Composition describes the individual components that make up solid waste and the distribution of these components by weight. Information is important in evaluating equipment needs, systems and management programs and plans. Example Given: Scales indicate that a landfill is collecting about 800 ton/day of MSW, 5 days per week. Find: The weight of material collected from the catch basins in a year. From the above table, catch basin corresponds to 0 .7% Weight MSW generated per week = 800 tons/day x 5 days/week Weight MSW generated per week = 4000tons/week Weight in catch basins = 4000tons/week x .007 x 52 weeks/year Weight in catch basins = 1456 tons/year Physical composition of residential MSW Typical physical composition of residential US MSW excluding recycled materials and food wastes discharged with wastewater shown below. Component US (Tchobanoglou s et al., 1993) Denmark (Mortensen , 1992) Food wastes Paper, cardboard Plastics Glass Metals 9 40 7 8 9.5 35 35 6 8 4 UK nationa l average (WHO 1991) 25 29 7 10 8 London 1993 (WHO, 1991) Poland 1991 (Mortensen , 1992) China 1985 (Mortensen , 1992) Ireland Dublin (Dennison and Dodd, 1992) 34.2 18.7 16.1 5.4 2.9 26.7 35.5 5.2 10.8 6 24 11 2 6 2 36 2 1.5 1 1 The low figure of 9 per cent for the United States is due to the use of kitchen sink grinders. Such devices increase the organic solid loading to municipal wastewater plants Variation in Distribution Highly variable, local studies should be considered, collected data is expensive and of limited value; make sure that collected data is useful before collecting. Location, warmer more affluent communities generate more wastes. More yard and food wastes in the summer; more glass and metals in the winter. Example Given: A recycling company is expecting about 1500 tons/year of glass and they did some field testing during the winter to verify this number. They chose winter to get a low end of the range assuming that less beverages would be consumed in the winter. Find: The percentage decrease in revenues when the glass is actually counted. Assume that the real glass production will be based on the average of winter and summer months. Typical glass composition: Glass in winter 3.5%, glass in summer 2.5% Total tonnage = 1500 tons/year .035 Total tonnage = 42,857 tons/year Actual glass percentage = (3.5 + 2.5)/2 Actual glass percentage = 3.0% Real tonnage of glass = 42,857 tons/year x .03 Real tonnage of glass = 1286 tons/year % decrease = (1500 - 1286)/1500 % decrease = 14.3% reduction in revenues Note: They made an incorrect assumption by assuming that there would be more glass in the summer. Economics and others. Materials Recovered from MSW Aluminum: cans and others, window frames, lawn furniture. Paper: 4 categories: newspaper, cardboard, high-quality, mixed(magazines). Defined by fiber, source, homogeneity, printing etc. Plastics: Mostly PETE/1, soda and HDPE/2, milk. Less than 5% being recycled. Glass: Often separated by colors. Ferrous metals: cars and appliances and steel (tin) cans. Yard wastes: Needs to collected separately. Uses include use as compost or intermediate cover at landfills. Construction and Demolition: Directly recoverable such as used brick or plumbing fixtures, gross material may serve to construct temporary roads at landfills.