Introduction to Solid Waste

Management

Lesson 1: Goals
Understand course expectations
Appreciate the magnitude of MSW issues
Become familiar with integrated solid
waste management
Become familiar with RCRA
Understand MSW management in Florida
Define Subtitle D wastes

Pretest
1.

The amount of municipal solid waste generated per

person per day in 2004 in the US was ________.

2.

The amount of municipal solid waste generated per

person per day in 2000 in Florida is ________.

3.

How many aluminum cans have been thrown in the trash

since 1972? ______.

4.

The percent of aluminum cans sold in the US that was

recycled is ____.

5.

The US has 5% of the worlds population and generates

____% of the worlds solid waste.

Pretest Continued
1.

Waste oil disposed in the US is ____ times the volume of the

Valdez oil spill.

2.

If all the MSW were put in waste collection vehicles and they
were lined up, they would reach ____ times around the earth.

3.

If every resident, visitor, and business in Florida chose to

dump their trash at the beach rather than manage it properly,
by the end of the year the pile would measure ___ ft high, ____
ft wide, and span the entire length of Florida's coastline.

4.

You are probably familiar with the term NIMBY, what does
BANANA mean?

5.

How many disposable diapers are thrown away each year?

Exercise
Name five types of purchase you
or your family made that you
expect will outlive you
Example, real estate

What happens to everything else

you bought?

Todays Solid Waste

According to EPA US produces
251 million tons/year (2006)
Biocycle reports 388 million
tons/year
4.6 pounds/person/day

Florida MSW Per Capita

Generation Rate

Florida Population Growth (1830 - 2020)

24
22
20
18
14
12
10
8
6
4
2

Population

Low Projection

Medium Projection

2020

2010

2000

1990

1980

1970

1960

1950

1940

1930

1920

1910

1900

1890

1880

1870

1860

1850

1840

0
1830

Millions

16

High Projection

Landfills

Recycle

Incineratio
n

Florida Situation
35 million tons in 2006 (8.8 pounds
per person per day)
65 % landfilled, 11 % recycled, 24
% WTE, 60 Class I landfills (all
lined), 13 WTE, more WTE capacity
than any other state
SW leg passed in June 1988 Public Law 88-130 of Fla. Statutes.

Special Wastes - Tire

Recycling
In US 291 million disposed/yr
(4.6 million tons)
In US 38% recycled by wt,
80% by number
275 million stockpiled (90%
reduction since 1990)
In Florida 19.5 million
discarded, 84% recycled
Many ways to recycle

retread
playgrounds
Tire derived fuel
Ground rubber (carpet,
tracks)
Civil engineering applications
(roads, embankment)

Special Wastes - E-Wastes

1.5 billion lb of e-wastes
processed annually
250 million PCs obsolete
in next 5 yrs
Contain lead,
halogenated
compounds, antimony,
plastics
Cost to recycle a PC is
$10-$60
Cost to manage e-waste
will reach $10.8 billion
between 2006-2015

Cell Phones
Handset: 40% metals, 40% plastics,
20% ceramic/trace materials
Average lifespan is 9-18 months
200 million wireless subscribers in US
125 million phones discarded/yr (65,000
tons of waste)
Phones can be refurbished and reused
or smelted for metals recovery
1-2% are recycled

Electronic Waste
Electronic devices contain a variety of
potentially toxic elements

Metals (lead, mercury, cadmium,)

Organic chemicals (PCBs, brominated flame
retardants)

Many devices meet the definition of

hazardous waste

Color CRTS are recognized as hazardous

wastes by the US EPA
Other devices which contain printed wire
boards also frequently meet the criteria for
hazardous waste

Lead is Primary Concern from Regulatory

Perspective
(TC Limit for Lead = 5 mg/L) Printed Wiring Boards
Cathode Ray Tube

Funnel

24% Pb

Face

0 3% Pb

Neck

30% Pb

Frit
70% Pb

Managing Discarded
Electronics
Historically, these
devices were handled
in the same manner
as furniture and other
household items
Waste managers
today must consider
regulatory
implications and
environmental
concerns
Flood debris in New Orleans.
Note the television.

A personal computer in a scrap metal pile at a disaster debris landfill.

Solutions
Legislated recycling mandates
(advanced recovery fees, require
manufacturers to take back
equipment)?
Voluntary recovery and recycling?
Landfilling?

Special Wastes - 2004

Hurricane Season
4 major hurricanes made landfall
Estimated 44,000,000 yd3 debris*
70% vegetative
30% mixed debris

Waste would fill a football stadium to the brim

90 times
Waste collected in 365 staging areas covering
4,000 acres
Mixed waste must go to Class I landfill
Vegetative burned or chipped for fuel or
mulch (or sent overseas
Aluminum, other materials have been recycled

*Hurricane Andrew generated 42,000,000 yd3

New Orleans Katrina

2005

World Trade
Center

World Trade Center

16 acres, 2 towers, five smaller buildings
>100 ft high, 80 ft deep pile of debris
Burned at > 1200o F for weeks
1,450,000 tons, averaged 6400 tpd, peak at
17,500 tons/day
Transported 17 tons/truck to Fresh Kills Landfill
3000-acre site
Salvaged steel
Glass, steel, concrete, electrical cord (12,000
miles), duct work (128 miles), 900 vehicles

Ocean Gyres

Integrated Waste
Management

Reduce
Recycle
Incinerat
e
Landfill

Waste Reduction
Precycling buying choices
that support
responsible
products and
packaging,
makes
recycling easier

Ways to Reduce

Using durable coffee mugs.

Using cloth napkins or towels.
Refilling bottles.
Donating old magazines or surplus equipment.
Reusing boxes.
Turning empty jars into containers for leftover food.
Purchasing refillable pens and pencils.
Participating in a paint collection and reuse program.
Reusable items, avoid throwaways
Concentrated liquids
Cloth bags
Reduced packaging
Reduced toxicity (white out, batteries)

Remanufacturing
Not the same as refurbishing
Product is completely disassembled
As many components as possible
are salvaged and cleaned
Enhanced parts are reassembled
Costs are less than half the price of
new goods (less materials, energy,
and waste)

Remanufacturing
Rebuilt to Last
The central premise
behind the
remanufacturing process
is this: Generally
speaking, the cost of
building a new widget is
70% materials and 30%
labor. Why not try to
wring more productivity
out of the materials
component, as well as
the labor side?

Remanufacturing
Diesel Engines
Caterpillar got into this
business in the 1970s as
a favor to client Ford
Motor. Now,
remanufacturing is one
$1 billion and the fastestgrowing divisions.
Caterpillar's main reman
facility in Corinth, Miss.,
churns out hundreds of
remanufactured diesel
engines a month.

Remanufacturing
Single-Use Camera
Apart from film itself,
most of the parts in the
disposable cameras that
Kodak made famous are
reusable up t o 10 times
The customer drops the
camera off at a photo
developer, say a drug
store. The drug store
develops that roll of film
but sends the camera
core back to the camera
manufacturer to be
reused.

Remanufacturing
Xerox Copiers
Xerox has saved
billions over the
years by
remanufacturing
both copy
machines and
toner cartridges

Recycling
Recycling, including composting,
diverted 79 million tons of material away
from landfills and incinerators in 2005
(32%), up from 34 million tons in 1990.
By 2002, almost 9,000 curbside
collection programs served roughly half
of the American population.
Curbside programs, drop-off, and buyback centers

Recycling - Advantages
Advantages
Conserves resources
for our children's
future.
Prevents emissions of
many greenhouse
gases and water
pollutants.
Saves energy.
Supplies valuable raw
materials to industry.
Creates jobs.
Stimulates the
development of
greener technologies.
Reduces the need for
new landfills and
incinerators.

Recycling - Disadvantages
Environmental impacts
Not always economical
Cannot recycle everything

Finished Compost

Waste to Energy
Advantages
volume reduction
energy recovery

Disadvantages

public distrust
difficult to operate
cost
air pollutants

33.4 million tons

burned in 2005
(13.6%)

Landfilling
Advantages
gas recovery potential
simple
low cost

Disadvantages
odor, visibility
NIMBY, NOPE,
NIMTOO, BANANA

133.3 million tons in

2005 (54.3%)

Begin with the

end in mind

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11/04/15