Solid Waste Disposal

How do we get rid of garbage?• Open dumping (ground or water)• Landfill• Incineration• Recycling

Increasing Desirability

Open Dumping

Advantages• Convenient• Cheap

Disadvantages• Water + Soil Pollution• Health Hazard• Hurts Animals• UGLY!

http://5gyres.org/

Landfill

Advantages

• Efficient way to deal with large volume

• Filled land can be used…• Can create energy

– CH4 produced can be burned– Carbon-offsets @ Knott

Disadvantages

• People don’t want to live near them

• Transport of waste• Maintenance• Poor decomposition rate• Possible leaching into water

systems• Produces Methane

Incineration

Advantages• Reduces Volume• Minimal Space• Stable Residue• Energy Source?

Disadvantages• Expensive• Can Cause Release of

Pollutants (Dioxins)• Requires Energy• CO2 + NO2…

Special Case: Nuclear WasteIssues:• Low level= hospitals…• High level (small amounts)=

spent fuel. Metal rods contain ceramics + radioactive isotopes

• Stays active (lethal, actually) for 1000s of years

• Transportation to long term facility

• Terrorism danger

How we are dealing with it• Low level=

landfill/incineration• High level= Stored @ the

site in pools and then concrete bunkers

• Future = burying at Yucca Mountain, NV?

• Trying to develop a recycling method. Reprocessing already active in UK + Francehttp://www.whatisnuclear.com/articles/waste.html

http://www.nei.org/keyissues/nuclearwastedisposal/

Recycling

Advantages• Less Waste• Less Pollution (than creating

new materials)• Less Energy Use (than

creating new materials)

Disadvantages• Expensive (transport,

sorting, cleaning, repurposing)

Recycling- Paper

• Sorted• Washed• Slurry• Re-pressed

Recycling- Metals (mainly Al and Fe)

• Sorted• Melted• Reused• Bam

Recycling- Glass• Sorted• Washed• Crushed• Melted• Molded• (can be recycled

multiple times)

Recycling- Plastic

• Sorted• Degraded with heat/hydrogenation/cracking• Repolymerized• Reformed

Link to ppt

from Alyssa Here!

Zero Waste Family