CHAPTER 15 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: WASTES AND POLUTION. 495 vide little refuge for rodents and insects, and there is no reason why the area cannot be used for recreation. In fact, there is a ski slope in Michigan that was cre- ated by using this process(see Figure 15.7) Sanitary landfills are still not without problems. The production of leachates and contamination of groundwater can still occur if the clay seal breaks or if the landfill is located improperly. Some local governments have enacted legislation that requires sanitary landfills to be lined or double-lined with plastic liners Another concern is the possibility of explosions and fires caused by the accumula tion of dangerous amounts of methane gas created by the anaerobic decomposi tion of refuse. However, it should be noted that some communities have systems in place to harness the methane gas and use it as an energy source FIGURE 15.7 A state-of-the-art sanitary landfill Source: Miller, Jr, G. T(1989). Lfuing in tbe Environment Prindples, Connections and Solutions, 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company When landfill is full layers of soil and clay seal in trash Electricity Methane storage generator and compressor building Topsoil building Sand treatment system Garbage Pipes colect explos Probes to detect methane gas used as methane leaks fuel to generate Compacted solid waste Garbage Synthetic line Groundwater Clay and plastic lining Clay to prevent leaks; pipes Subsoil collect leachate from bottom of landfill
496. UNT FOUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY Today, about 73% of all municipal waste goes into landfills. However, the number of existing landfills in the United States has declined from approximately 20,000 in 1978 to fewer than 6,000 in 1991. At this rate, only one of every six land fills that was operating in 1979 will still be open in the year 2000. This means that (1) it will be more costly to use existing landfills in the future because of supply and demand, (2)new sites for landfills will be needed, and 3)alternative means of waste disposal must be developed Incineration Incineration, or the burning of wastes, is the second major method of refuse dis- posal. The passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970 severely restricted the rights of ind iduals and municipalities to burn refuse because most could not comply with the strict emission standards. Today only about 14% of all municipal waste is inciner- ated. Most of the nearly 200 municipal incinerators are waste-to-energy (Wte) plants. That is, they are able to convert some of the heat generated from the incin- waste-to-energy eration process into steam and electricity to operate municipally owned equipment (WTE) Plants incinerators that are or to be sold to a utility. Some high-tech waste-to-energy plants also include the sep- able to convert som. aration of waste prior to incineration so that glass and metals can be recycled the burning of trash Incineration greatly reduces the weight and volume of solid waste. generally, am and volume is reduced by as much as 90% and weight is reduced by as much as 80% While incineration might seem to be the ultimate solution to the solid waste dis posal problem, it is not without serious drawbacks. First of all, large commercial incinerators are cxpcnsive. Start-up costs can approach a quarter of a billion dol- lars. Some environmentalists feel that there are too many unanswered questions about incinerators to invest that type of money. One of their questions is about air quality. While most modern incinerators use filters to reduce harmful emissions they do not eliminate them entirely. A second environmental concern has to do with the remaining ash. The ash may be toxic, particularly when plastics have been incinerated, which occurs with increasing frequency. a third concern is that least 10% of the volume(20% of the weight) of the original wastes remains to be dealt with. Most of this ash enters landfills, but because of its toxicity poses a threat to local groundwater. Also, it now appears that future restrictions on items placed in landfills may prohibit the disposal of the ash Finally, since incinerators require large amounts of wastes to operate effi ciently, there is concern that the existence of community incinerators migh impede the development of recycling and source-reduction programs. However, it would seem logical in these times that incineration and waste reduction could Recycling is the collection and reprocessing of a resource so that it can be reused nond for the same or another purpose. This process yields three major benefits. First, it resoure aer use o conserves resources. If we recycle paper, we do not need to cut down as man i can be reused for trees to generate new paper. Second, recycling conserves energy. It takes less putpose energy to recycle an aluminum soft drink can than it does to create a new one Third, recycling conserves sanitary landfill space that can be used for the disposal of nonrecyclable waste. 3
CHAPTER 15 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: WASTES AND POLUTION 497 Though recycling makes perfectly good sense, Americans 25% recycle only a small percentage of what could be recycled 23% (see Figure 15.8). Overall, only 13% of all municipal solid waste is being managed through recycling. In contrast, Japan recycles approximately 45% of its municipal solid waste. In an effort to encourage recycling, the federal government has 2 set a goal of recycling 25% of municipal solid wastes by the mid-1990s, and several municipalities in the United States t have set even higher standards for themselves(see Box 15.1) The primary reasons why Americans have been slow to embrace recycling are: (1) the absence of reliable markets for the recycled materials, (2) the lack of incentives for people to recycle, and ()the inconvenience of recycling FIGURE 15.8 When most people think of recycling, they think of Percent of waste being recycled, by type paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic. But one solid waste that of waste can easily be recycled and currently consumes almost 20% of Source: Enger, E D and B (1991) the solid waste going into landfills is yard waste-grass clip- Imterrelationsbtps, 4th ed. Dubuque, IA pings, leaves, and shrub and tree trimmings. Yard waste can Wm. C. Brown, p. 438 be recycled by composting, a process that utilizes the nat ural aerobic biodegradation process of microorganisms to convert organic plant and animal matter to compost, which can then be used as a mulch or fertilizer. Composting can be done by individuals collecting household yard wastes for their own compost piles or on a community-wide basis. In commu- nity-wide composting programs, communities collect and transport the wastes to a organi plan! and citizens either free or for a nominal fee. Because yard wastes take up so much compou mothe to central composting area where they are shredded, processed, and made available to space in a municipal landfill, a number of municipalities and even some states have banned them from landfills For recycling to be successful, it must be made more convenient. One solution is curbside recycling, in which paper, glass nd plastic are separated by the consumer prior pickup at the curbside. Similarly, the disposal of hazardous sub- stances like paint thinner or oil-based paint can be made more convenient by scheduling monthly pickups rather than annual pickups which are so common today. This would not only improve compliance; it would also prevent the disposal of the toxic materials in municipal landfills be recycled. This approach is exemplified by"bottle bills, "laws that require con- bothe bils sumers to pay refundable deposits (usually 5-10 cents)on beer and soft drink con- bs ht requre tainers. In states with bottle bills, 90% of all such containers are returned for tefundab le lep osit recycling, as opposed to only 54% for the nation as a whole. Some have suggested on beverage that we need a national bottle bill Bottle bills are not without problems. Many consumers dislike paying the refundable deposits, storing the empty containers, and having to return them to a store. Retail merchants also dislike handling the dirty containers and providing storage space for them. Even with these disadvantages, bottle bills still seem to make good sense
498. UNT FOUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY BOX ONE CORPORATIONs RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY When Americans think about those symbols around washroom tissue, office stationery, and towels. In us that are truly "American, thoughts of baseball addition, they are redesigning dozens of other pack- and apple pie come to mind. When we are asked to aging items they use in order to reduce the amount think about corporations that are truly American, of material in them. the McDonalds Corporation-the hamburger The corporation estimated that by recycling people-comes to mind. In each of their restau- corrugated cardboard shipping containers nation- rants, they provide information for the customers wide, they could reduce the amount of waste about the nutritional value of their foods and other McDonald's restaurants formerly sent to landfills by interesting bits of information about the company. 30%-40% In recent years, McDonald's has presented informa- It is efforts like that of the mcdonald's tion about their support of recycling. They have Corporation that will help us reach our future recy. stated that they are the largest user of recycled cling goals paper in their business. Specifically, they use recy-. Note: For more information on the recycling program Happy Meal bags, corrugated shipping containers, mental Affairs, McDonald's Corp, Oak Brook, IL 605on cled paper for trayliners, brown carryout bags of McDonald's Corporation write: McDonald's Envi Source reduction The ultimate approach to solid waste reduction is to limit its creation in the first source reduction place through source reduction. This can be achieved by avoiding the use of non- mpp roach involving reusable products, such as paper towels and paper diapers, and by reducing the the reducion or amount packaging associated with groceries and carryout foods such as ham- eliminstion of use f burgers and pizzas. (A cardboard round and a paper bag constitute less packaging materials that produre on accumulation of than an entire corrugated cardboard box. Lightweight containers like aluminum w soft drink cans create less to recycle than heavier ones. a third approach is to sell products in concentrated form so they can be packaged in the smaller containers currently used. Examples of this technique are frozen orange juice, other concen trated juice drinks, and laundry detergent Solid waste management has come a long way in the past 20 years. Today, most people know what is and is not environmentally sound waste management, and the necessary technology to ensure appropriate disposal of waste is available. One question still remains: When will protecting the environment become a high enough priority for most Americans to act and demand wise waste management? (See Box 15.2.) Hazardous Waste lozarrlous waste Like solid waste, hazardous waste-waste that is dangerous to human health or combination o the environment-has become the subject of intensified concern in recent years wastes that i Improperly handled hazardous waste can result in an immediate threat to human dangerous to human t health or to the environment. Until 1976 and the passage of RCRA, hazardous health or the vironment waste could be disposed of in the same way that other solid wastes were; that is, by placing it in a dump or landfill. In addition, a great deal of hazardous waste was ille- gally buried or discarded into waterways. Today, Americans are faced with the dual
CHAPTER 15 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: WASTES AND POLLUTION.499 TIPS FOR REDUCING SOLID WASTE Reduce 9. Select products made from recycled materials 1. Reduce the amount of unnecessary packaging. 10. Compost yard trimmings and some food 2. Adopt practices that reduce waste toxicity. Reuse Respe 3. Consider reusable products 11. Educate others on source reduction and red 4. Maintain and repair durable products cling practices. Make your preferences known 5. Reuse bags, containers, and other items to manufacturers, merchants, and community 6. Borrow, rent, or share items used infrequently leaders 7. Sell or donate goods instead of throwing them 12. Be creative-find new ways to reduce waste quantity and toxicity. Ree 8. Choose recyclable products and containers Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1992). Tbe Consumer's Handbook for Reducing Solid Waste. and recycle them Washington, D. C: U.S. Government Printing Office, P. 7. problem of appropriately disposing of new hazardous waste while working to cor rect the errors of mishandling of hazardous waste in the past. There are untold numbers of hazardous waste sites that are"polluted"from past actions, legal and illegal, that must be cleaned up. Meanwhile, the production of hazardous wastes continues at a record pace. The United States alone produces almost 300 million metric tons of hazardous industrial waste annually. That is more than 1 ton of waste for every person living in the country. This figure does not include any wastes that re discarded improperly or illegally Hazardous Waste Defined The RCRA act of 1976, mentioned previously, was the first comprehensive law to address the collection and disposal of wastes. This law, and its 1984 amend- ments, provide for"cradle-to-grave"regulation of solid hazardous wastes. According to this act the term "hazardous waste"means a solid waste or combination of solid wastes which, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may(1) cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or (2) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environ- ment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise Environmental managed Protection Agency It is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)to primarily responsible implement the legislation created by the RCRA. There are now more than 400 sub- for effing stances that are considered hazardous wastes in the United States. The Epa list includes neither radioactive wastes, which are controlled by the nuclear n snorunt, Regulatory Commission, nor biomedical wastes, which are regulated by the indi- standards vidual states