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Chapter 22 - Coggle Diagram

- - - - We can reduce waste by Refusing to take resources we don’t need
    - - Reducing the amount we do take if we can’t refuse them altogether.
    - - We can reduce waste by Reusing products in their original form
    - - Recycling better than landfill, but uses lots of resources
        Recycling = collecting materials that can be broken down and reprocessed to manufacture new items
        
        In the U.S., recycling is decreasing pressure on landfills
        
        Recycling consists of three steps
        
        Step 1 = collection and processing of recyclable materials through curbside recycling or designated locations
        Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) = workers and machines sort, clean, shred, and prepare items
        
        Step 3 = consumers buy goods made from recycled materials - Must occur if recycling is to function.As markets expand, prices will fall
        
        Step 2 = using recyclables to produce new goods
        Many products use recycled materials
        
        Growth in recycling results from:
        
        Municipalities’ desire to reduce waste
        
        The public’s satisfaction in recycling
        
        Recycling may not be profitable - it is expensive , collect, sort and process - the more material that is recycled the lower the price
        
        But market forces do not take into account the health and environmental effects of not recycling
        There are enormous energy and material savings
        
        We can recycle materials from landfills- These approaches work when market prices are high
        
        Businesses are weighing the benefits of salvaging materials in landfills that can be recycled
        
        Metals (steel, copper)
        
        Organic waste for compost
        
        Harvesting methane leaking from open dumps in Asia and Africa
        
        Financial incentives can address waste
        
        Pay-as-you-throw” approach = uses financial incentives to influence consumer behavior
        
        The less waste a house generates, the less it is charged for trash collection
        
        Bottle bills = consumers receive a refund for returning used bottles. They are profoundly successful But beverage industries and groceries fight them
  - - - Sanitary landfills MSW = waste buried in the ground or piled in large, engineered mounds to prevent contamination and health threats
        
        U.S. landfills must meet the EPA’s national standards
        Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976
      - Composting = the conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus through natural decomposition
        It can be used to enrich soil
  - - - Consumption is greatly increasing in developing nations. Rising standard of living, more packaging, poor-quality goods
      - Wealthy consumers often discard items that can still be used
- - - - Landfills can be transformed after closure
        
        Incinerating trash reduces landfill pressure.
        Incineration = a controlled process that burns garbage at very high temperatures
        Incineration in specially constructed faculties can be an improvement over open-air burning of trash
        Scrubbers = chemically treat the gases produced in combustion
        
        Baghouse = a system of huge filters that physically removes particulate matter
        Waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities = use the heat produced by waste combustion to create electricity
        
        Pros and Cons of Incineration
        
        Pros:
        
        Reduces Pressure on landfills
        
        Reduces decomposition that can produce methane- a very powerful greenhouse gas
        
        Cons:
        
        Produces ash: Bottom ash that must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Fly ash that can go into the atmosphere and contain organic toxins (VOCs, furans, dioxins) and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, etc.)
        
        Can release compounds like mercury as a gas
        
        Releases oxidized organic compounds: Carbon dioxide- Greenhouse gas , Sulfur oxides , Nitrogen oxides
      - Landfill gas = a mix of gases that consists of 50% methane At Fresh Kills, the city sells the gas for $11 million/year , Can be collected, processed, and used like natural gas.
        When not used commercially landfill gas is burned off to reduce odors and greenhouse emissions
        
        Hazardous waste is a liquid, solid, or gas and is one of the following:
        
        Ignitable = easily catches fire (natural gas, alcohol)
        
        Corrosive = corrodes metals in storage tanks or equipment
        
        Reactive = chemically unstable and readily reacts with other compounds, often explosively or by producing noxious fumes
        
        Toxic = harms human health when inhaled, ingested, or contact human skin
        
        Industry produces the largest amount of hazardous waste. But waste generation and disposal are highly regulated
        
        Households = the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste. Paint, batteries, solvents, cleaners, pesticides, etc. Since the 1980s, cities have designated sites or collection days to gather household hazardous waste
        
        Mining, small businesses, agriculture, utilities, and building demolition all produce hazardous wastes
        
        Organic compounds and heavy metals are particularly hazardous because their toxicity persists over time.
        Heavy metals that are fat soluble and break down slowly can bioaccumulate and biomagnify
        
        RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) = states must manage hazardous waste
        Large generators of hazardous waste must obtain permits
        
        Three disposal methods for hazardous waste
        Landfills = must have several impervious liners and leachate removal systems
        Surface impoundments = store liquid hazardous waste
        Shallow depressions are lined with plastic and clay, The Water evaporates.
        The residue of solid hazardous waste is transported elsewhere. The Clay layer can crak and leak waste.
        Rainstorms cause overflow, contaminating nearby areas
        Deep-well injection = a well is drilled deep beneath the water table. Waste is injected into it , It is A long-term disposal method.
        The well is isolated from groundwater and humans, However, the wells can corrode and leak waste
  - - - In Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New York, in 1978–1980, families were evacuated after buried chemicals rose to the surface
      - Times Beach, Missouri, was evacuated after contamination with dioxin from oil sprayed on roads