Transcript Waste and Recycling Notes

Waste and
Recycling Notes
Waste Disposal
Electronic Waste: A
Growing Problem
E-waste consists of
toxic and hazardous
waste such as PVC,
lead, mercury, and
cadmium.
The U.S. produces
almost half of the
world's e-waste but
only recycles about
10% of it.
Figure 22-
Chapter Overview
Questions
What is solid waste and how much do
we produce?
How can we produce less solid waste?
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of reusing recycled
materials?
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of burning or burying
solid waste?
What is hazardous waste and how can
we deal with it?
Chapter Overview
Questions (cont’d)
What can we do to reduce
exposure to lead and mercury?
How can we make the transition to
a more sustainable low-waste
society?
Core Case Study:
Love Canal — There Is No “Away”
Between 1842-1953, Hooker Chemical
sealed multiple chemical wastes into steel
drums and dumped them into an old canal
excavation (Love Canal).
In 1953, the canal was filled and sold to
Niagara Falls school board for $1.
The company inserted a disclaimer
denying liability for the wastes.
Core Case Study:
Love Canal — There Is No “Away”
In 1957, Hooker Chemical warned the
school not to disturb the site because
of the toxic waste.
In 1959 an elementary school, playing
fields and homes were built disrupting the
clay cap covering the wastes.
In 1976, residents complained of chemical
smells and chemical burns from the site.
Core Case Study:
Love Canal — There Is No “Away”
President Jimmy
Carter declared
Love Canal a
federal disaster
area.
The area was
abandoned in
1980 (left).
Figure 22-
Core Case Study:
Love Canal — There Is No “Away”
It still is a controversy as to how much
the chemicals at Love Canal injured or
caused disease to the residents.
Love Canal sparked creation of the
Superfund law, which forced polluters
to pay for cleaning up abandoned toxic
waste dumps.
Early Concepts of Waste
Disposal
Start of Industrial Revolution, the
volume of waste produced in the US
was relatively small.
Managed through the concept of “dilute and
disperse.”
Factories located near water.
Easy transport of materials by boat
Sufficient water for processing and cooling
Easy disposal of waste into the river
Few factories and a sparse population
Method was sufficient to remove the waste
from the immediate environment.
Early Concepts of Waste
Disposal
As industrial and urban areas
expanded, the concept became
“concentrate and contain”
Containment not always achieved.
Containers leak or break and allow waste to
escape.
People are facing a serious solid-waste
disposal problem.
We are producing a great deal of waste and
the acceptable space for permanent
disposal is limited.
Difficult to site new landfills (NIMBY).
Modern Trends
Environmentally correct concept is to
consider wastes as resources out of
place.
Waste would be a resource to be used
again.
Referred to as the “zero waste” movement.
Industrial ecology
Study of relationships among industrial
systems and their links to natural systems.
Waste from one part of the system would
be a resource for another part.
Modern Trends
Countries have moved to cut
waste by imposing taxes.
Taxation of waste in all its various
forms, from emissions from
smokestacks to solids delivered to
landfills.
As taxes increase people produce less
waste.
Landfills produce methane gas
which can be burned as fuel.
Integrated Waste
Management
A set of management alternatives
that includes:
Reuse
Source reduction
Recycling
Composting
Landfill
Incineration
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Ultimate objective of the three R’s is to
reduce.
Study of the waste stream in areas that
utilize IWM technology suggests that
the amount of refuse disposed of in
landfills or incinerated can be reduced
by at least 50%
Reduction facilitated by
Better design of packaging to reduce waste,
an element of source reduction (10%
reduction).
Large-scale composting programs (10%
reduction).
Establishment of recycling programs (30%
reduction).
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Recycling is a major player in the
reduction of urban waste stream.
Estimated that as much as 80-90% of
the US waste stream might be
recovered through intense recycling.
Partial recycling can provide a
significant reduction ~50%.
Simplified by single stream recycling.
Public Support for
Recycling
Encouraging signs
An increase in the willingness of
industry and business to support
recycling on a variety of scales.
People are now more likely to
purchase products that can be
recycled or that come in containers
that are more easily recycled or
composted.
How does the public feel
about recycling?
Markets for Recycled
Products
In communities where recycling
has been successfully
implemented, it has resulted in
glutted markets for the recycled
products.
If recycling is to be successful,
markets and processing facilities will
also have to be developed to ensure
that recycling is a sound financial
venture.
Recycling of Human Waste
The use of human waste or “night soil”
on croplands is an ancient practice.
Early uses of human waste for agriculture
occasionally spread infectious diseases.
One of the major problems of recycling
human waste today is that thousands of
chemicals and metals flow through our
waste stream.
Because many toxic materials are likely to
be present with the waste, we must be very
skeptical of utilizing sewage sludge for land
application.
Materials Management
Futuristic waste management has
the goal of zero production of
waste.
Consistent with the ideals of
industrial ecology.
Goal will require more sustainable
use of materials combined with
resource conservation in what is
being termed materials management.
Materials Management
The goal could be pursued in the
following ways:
Eliminate subsidies for extraction
of virgin materials.
Establish “green building”
incentives that encourage the use of
recycled-content materials and
products in new construction.
Assess financial penalties for
production that uses negative
materials management practices.
Materials Management
Provide financial incentives for
industrial practices and products that
benefit the environment by enhancing
sustainability.
Increase the number of new jobs in
the technology of reuse and recycling
of resources.
Composition of Solid
Waste
Paper is by far the most abundant
content.
Excavations into modern landfills using
archeological tools have cleared up
some misconceptions concerning other
items.
Fast-food packaging accounts for
about 0.25% of the average landfill
Disposable diapers, approximately
0.8%
Polystyrene products, about 0.9%
Solid-Waste Management
Continues to be a problem in many
parts of the world.
Many practices inadequate.
• Open dumps, illegal roadside dumping
Social problem as much as a physical
one, because many people are simply
disposing of their waste as
inexpensively and as quickly as
possible.
On-Site Disposal
A common on-site disposal method
in urban areas is the mechanical
grinding of kitchen food waste.
Garbage-disposal devices are
installed at the kitchen sink, and the
garbage is ground and flushed into
the sewer system.
Composting
Biochemical process in which organic
materials decompose to a rich, soil-like
material.
The process involves rapid partial
decomposition of moist solid organic waste
by aerobic organisms.
As a waste management option, largescale composting is generally carried
out in the controlled environment of
mechanical digesters.
Incineration
Combustible waste is burned at
temperatures high enough (900°–
1,000°C, or 1,650°–1,830°F) to
consume all combustible material.
Leaving only ash and non-combustibles to
dispose of in a landfill.
Process of incineration can be used to
supplement other fuels and generate
electrical power.
In modern incineration facilities,
smokestacks are fitted with special
devices to trap pollutants.
Open Dumps
In the past, solid waste was often
disposed of in open dumps, where the
refuse was piled up without being
covered or otherwise protected.
Located wherever land is available, without
regard to safety, health hazards, or
aesthetic degradation.
Common sites
Abandoned mines and quarries, natural low
areas, such as swamps or floodplains; and
hillside areas above or below towns.
Sanitary Landfills
Designed to concentrate and contain
refuse w/o creating a nuisance or
hazard to public health or safety.
Confined to the smallest practical area
Reduced to the smallest practical
volume
Covered with a layer of compacted soil
at the end of each day of operation.
Leachate
The most significant hazard from a
sanitary landfill is pollution of
groundwater or surface water.
If waste comes into contact with
water, leachate is produced.
• noxious, mineralized liquid capable of
transporting bacterial pollutants
WASTING RESOURCES
Solid waste: any unwanted or
discarded material we produce that is
not a liquid or gas.
Municipal solid waste (MSW):
produce directly from homes.
Industrial solid waste: produced
indirectly by industries that supply
people with goods and services.
Hazardous (toxic) waste: threatens
human health or the environment
because it is toxic, chemically active,
corrosive or flammable.
WASTING RESOURCES
Solid wastes
polluting a river
in Jakarta,
Indonesia. The
man in the boat
is looking for
items to salvage
or sell.
Figure 22-
WASTING RESOURCES
The United States produces about
a third of the world’s solid waste
and buries more than half of it in
landfills.
About 98.5% is industrial solid waste.
The remaining 1.5% is MSW.
• About 55% of U.S. MSW is dumped into
landfills, 30% is recycled or composted,
and 15% is burned in incinerators.
Landfills
Definition
Solid waste is placed in a hole,
compacted, and covered with
soil.
Reduces the number of rats
associated with solid waste,
lessens the danger of fire, and
decreases the odor.
Current Criteria
Landfills cannot pollute surface or
groundwater.
Compacted clay and plastic sheets are
at the bottom (prevents liquid waste
from seeping into groundwater)
A double liner system must be present
(plastic, clay, plastic, clay), and a
system to collect leachate (liquid that
seeps through the solid waste)
Oil
Not allowed
Must go to an automotive or
environmental company for
recycling.
Tires
Are usually allowed if they
are quartered or shredded.
Antifreeze
Not allowed.
Must be sent to an
automotive or
environmental company for
recycling.
Air Conditioner Coolants
Not allowed
Must be sent to an
automotive or
environmental company for
recycling.
Lead Acid (Car Batteries)
Not allowed
Must be sent to an
automotive or an
environmental company for
recycling.
Compost
Definition
A sweet-smelling, darkbrown, humus-like material
that is rich in organic
material and soil nutrients.
Benefits
Aerates the soil.
Improves soil’s ability to
retain water and nutrients.
Helps prevent erosion.
Prevents nutrients from
being dumped in landfills.
Recycling
Definition
Conservation of resources
by converting them into
new product.
Organic
Comprise over 1/2 of the solid
waste
Includes yard debris, wood
materials, bio-solids, food, manure
and agricultural residues, land
clearing debris, used paper, and
mixed municipal organic waste.
Organic materials have been
dumped in landfills or burned.
Why not use them!
General Purpose
Recycling saves land,
reduces the amount of
solid waste, energy
consumption and
pollution.
Ex. recycling one
aluminum can saves
the energy of about 6
oz. of gasoline.
Examples
Gold, lead, nickel, steel,
copper, silver, zinc, and
aluminum are recyclable.
Problems
Recycling does have
environmental costs.
It uses energy and generates
pollution.
Ex. the de-inking process in
paper recycling requires
energy, and produces a toxic
sludge that contains heavy
metals.
Benefits
Conserves our natural resources
Has a positive effect on the
economy by generating jobs and
revenues.
For example, the Sunday edition of
the New York Times consumes
62,000 trees.
Currently, only about 20% of all
paper in North America is recycled.
Specific
Recycled
Items
Glass
U.S. recycles about 36% of its
glass containers.
It costs less to recycle glass
than to make new glass.
Mixed color glass “cullet” is
used for glassphalt, a
glass/asphalt mixture.
Aluminum
This is the most recycled material
in the U.S. because of $.
Making a new can from an old one
requires a fraction of the energy
than to make a new can from raw
materials.
Approximately 2/3 of cans are
recycled each year, saving 19
million barrels of oil annually.
Paper
U.S. currently recycles 40% of its
paper and paperboard.
Denmark, recycles about 97% of its
paper.
Many U.S. mills are not able to
process waste paper.
Many countries like Mexico, import
a large amount of wastepaper from
the U.S.
We export about 19% of our
recycled paper.
Recyclable
Plastics
#1 - PET (Polyethylene
terephthalate)
PET is used to make soft drink
bottles, peanut butter jars,
etc.
PET can be recycled into
fiberfill for sleeping bags,
carpet fibers, rope, and
pillows.
#2 - HDPE (High-density
polyethylene)
HDPE is found in milk
jugs, butter tubs,
detergent bottles, and
motor oil bottles.
HDPE can be recycled
into flowerpots,
trashcans, traffic barrier
cones, and detergent
bottles.
#3 - PVC (Polyvinyl chloride)
PVC is used in shampoo
and cooking oil bottles &
fast-food service items.
#4 - LDPE (Low-density
polyethylene)
LDPE is found in grocery
bags, bread bags,
shrink-wrap, and
margarine tub tops.
LDPE can be recycled
into new grocery bags.
#5 - PP (Polypropylene)
PP is used in yogurt
containers, straws, pancake
syrup bottles, and bottle caps.
PP can be recycled into plastic
lumber, car battery cases, and
manhole steps.
#6 - PS (Polystyrene)
PS is found in disposable hot cups,
packaging materials (peanuts), &
meat trays.
PS can be recycled into plastic
lumber, cassette tape boxes, and
flowerpots.
#7 - Other
A mixture of various
plastics, like squeeze
ketchup bottles &
“microwaveable” dishes.
Nuclear Waste
The safe disposal of radioactive
wastes is the problem.
Radioactive wastes must be stored
in an isolated area where they can’t
contaminate the environment.
It must have geological stability and
little or no water flowing nearby.
Texas Production of Waste
The TNRCC oversees the municipal
waste in Texas.
In 1998, the solid waste disposal rate
for Texans was 6.5 pounds per person
per day.
This is based on every item that goes
into a landfill.
The TNRCC estimates that 12,740,234
tons were diverted for recycling in
1998.
Texans disposal rate is comparable to
the US disposal rate.
Packaging
Many packaging items are put into
landfills, including boxes, packing
peanuts, Styrofoam, shrink wrap, etc.
Try to buy things that are not as highly
packaged.
Many companies use peanuts that are
made from cellulose that can be washed
down the drain and not put into
landfills.
Reuse containers and buy smart!
Integrated Waste
Management
Definition
The most effective way to deal
with solid and hazardous waste
and hazardous waste.
This includes the three R’s:
reduce, reuse, and recycle.
INTEGRATED WASTE
MANAGEMENT
We can manage the solid wastes we produce
and reduce or prevent their production.
First Priority
Primary Pollution
and Waste Prevention
• Change industrial
process to eliminate
use of harmful
chemicals
• Purchase different
products
• Use less of a harmful
product
• Reduce packaging
and materials in
products
• Make products that
last longer and are
recyclable, reusable,
or easy to repair
Second Priority
Secondary Pollution
and Waste Prevention
• Reuse products
• Repair products
• Recycle
• Compost
• Buy reusable
recyclable products
Last Priority
Waste Management
• Treat waste to reduce
toxicity
• Incinerate waste
• Bury waste in
landfills
• Release waste into
environment for
dispersal or dilution
Fig. 22-5, p. 523
Solutions: Reducing Solid
Waste
Refuse: to buy items that we really don’t
need.
Reduce: consume less and live a simpler
and less stressful life by practicing
simplicity.
Reuse: rely more on items that can be
used over and over.
Repurpose: use something for another
purpose instead of throwing it away.
Recycle: paper, glass, cans, plastics…and
buy items made from recycled materials.
What Can You Do?
Solid Waste
• Follow the five Rs of resource use:
Refuse, Reduce,
Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle.
• Ask yourself whether you really need a particular
item.
• Rent, borrow, or barter goods and services when
you can.
• Buy things that are reusable, recyclable, or
compostable, and be sure to reuse, recycle, and
compost them.
• Do not use throwaway paper and plastic plates,
cups and eating utensils, and other disposable
items when reusable or refillable versions are
available.
• Refill and reuse a bottled water container with
tap water.
• Use e-mail in place of conventional paper
mail.
• Read newspapers and magazines
online.
• Buy products in concentrated form whenever
possible.
Fig. 22-6, p. 524
REUSE
Reusing products is an important way
to reduce resource use, waste, and
pollution in developed countries.
Reusing can be hazardous in
developing countries for poor who
scavenge in open dumps.
They can be exposed to toxins or
infectious diseases.
RECYCLING
Primary (closed loop) recycling:
materials are turned into new products
of the same type.
Secondary recycling: materials are
converted into different products.
Used tires shredded and converted
into rubberized road surface.
Newspapers transformed into
cellulose insulation.
RECYCLING
Composting biodegradable organic
waste mimics nature by recycling
plant nutrients to the soil.
Recycling paper has a number of
environmental (reduction in
pollution and deforestation, less
energy expenditure) and economic
benefits and is easy to do.
RECYCLING
Recycling many plastics is chemically
and economically difficult.
Many plastics are hard to isolate from
other wastes.
Recovering individual plastic resins
does not yield much material.
The cost of virgin plastic resins in low
than recycled resins due to low fossil
fuel costs.
There are new technologies that are
making plastics biodegradable.
BURNING AND BURYING
SOLID WASTE
Globally, MSW is burned in over 1,000
large waste-to-energy incinerators,
which boil water to make steam for
heating water, or space, or for
production of electricity.
Japan and a few European countries
incinerate most of their MSW.
Waste-to-Energy
Incineration
1) the volume of waste is reduced by up to
90% and 2) the heat produced, produces
steam, which can warm buildings or
generate electricity.
In 1999, the U.S. had 110 w-to-e
incinerators, which burned 16% of the
nation’s solid waste & produces less CO2
emissions than power plants that run on
fossil fuels. Giant piles of tires are also
being burned to supply electricity.
Burning Solid Waste
Waste-to-energy incinerator with pollution
controls that burns mixed solid waste.
Figure 22-
Burying Solid Waste
Most of the world’s MSW is buried in
landfills that eventually are expected to
leak toxic liquids into the soil and
underlying aquifers.
Open dumps: are fields or holes in the
ground where garbage is deposited and
sometimes covered with soil. Mostly
used in developing countries.
Sanitary landfills: solid wastes are
spread out in thin layers, compacted and
covered daily with a fresh layer of clay
or plastic foam.
Topsoil
Sand
Clay
Garbage
Probes to
detect
methane
leaks
When landfill is full,
layers of soil and clay
seal in trash
Methane storage
and compressor
building
Methane gas
recovery well
Compacted
solid
waste
Garbage
Sand
Synthetic
liner
Sand
Clay
Subsoil
Electricity
generator
building
Leachate
treatment system
Pipes collect explosive
methane as used as fuel
to generate electricity
Leachate
storage
tank
Leachate
pipes
Leachate pumped
up to storage tank
for safe disposal
Clay and plastic lining
to prevent leaks; pipes
collect leachate from
bottom of landfill
Groundwater
monitoring
well
Leachate
monitoring
well
Groundwater
Fig. 22-12, p. 532
Case Study: What Should We
Do with Used Tires?
We face a
dilemma in
deciding what to
so with
hundreds of
millions of
discarded tires.
Figure 22-
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Hazardous waste: is any
discarded solid or liquid material
that is toxic, ignitable, corrosive,
or reactive enough to explode or
release toxic fumes.
The two largest classes of hazardous
wastes are organic compounds (e.g.
pesticides, PCBs, dioxins) and toxic
heavy metals (e.g. lead, mercury,
arsenic).
Hazardous Waste Regulations
in the United States
Two major federal laws regulate the
management and disposal of hazardous
waste in the U.S.:
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA)
• Cradle-to-the-grave system to keep track
waste.
Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
• Commonly known as Superfund program.
You must know these two laws!
Hazardous Waste Regulations
in the United States
The Superfund law was designed to
have polluters pay for cleaning up
abandoned hazardous waste sites.
Only 70% of the cleanup costs have come
from the polluters, the rest comes from a
trust fund financed until 1995 by taxes on
chemical raw materials and oil.
Conversion to Less Hazardous
Substances
Physical Methods: using charcoal or
resins to separate out harmful
chemicals.
Chemical Methods: using chemical
reactions that can convert hazardous
chemicals to less harmful or harmless
chemicals.
Conversion to Less Hazardous
Substances
Biological Methods:
Bioremediation: bacteria or enzymes
help destroy toxic and hazardous waste or
convert them to more benign substances.
Phytoremediation: involves using natural
or genetically engineered plants to absorb,
filter and remove contaminants from
polluted soil and water.
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwate
r inDecontaminated
Soil
Groundwater
water out
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Phytodegradation
Rhizofiltration
Phytoextraction
Plants
such
as
poplars
Roots of plants such as
Roots of plants such as Indian
Phytostabilization
can
absorb
toxic
organic
sunflowers with dangling
Plants such as
mustard and brake ferns can
chemicals
and
break
willow
trees
and
roots on ponds or in greenabsorb toxic metals such as
poplars can absorb them down into less
houses can absorb
chemicals and keep harmful compounds lead, arsenic, and others and
pollutants
them from reaching which they store or store them in their leaves.
groundwater or
such as radioactive
Plants can then be recycled
nearby surface release slowly into the air.
strontium-90 and cesiumor harvested and incinerated.
water.
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwater in
Decontaminated
Soil
water out
Groundwater
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Phytodegradation
Rhizofiltration
Phytostabilization
Phytoextraction
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwate
r inDecontaminated
Soil
Groundwater
water out
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Rhizofiltration
Roots of plants such as sunflowers with dangling roots
on ponds or in green-houses can absorb pollutants such
as radioactive strontium-90 and cesium-137 and various
organic chemicals.
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwate
r inDecontaminated
Soil
Groundwater
water out
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Phytostabilization
Plants such as willow trees and poplars can absorb
chemicals and keep them from reaching groundwater or
nearby surface water.
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwate
r inDecontaminated
Soil
Groundwater
water out
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Phytodegradation
Plants such as poplars can absorb toxic organic chemicals
and break them down into less
harmful compounds which they store or release slowly into
the air.
Radioactive
contaminants
Sunflower
Organic
Inorganic
contaminants
metal contaminants
Poplar tree
Brake fern
Willow tree
Indian mustard
Landfill
Polluted
groundwate
r inDecontaminated
Soil
Groundwater
water out
Polluted
leachate
Oil
spill
Soil
Groundwater
Phytoextraction
Roots of plants such as Indian mustard and brake ferns can absorb
toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, and others and store them in their
leaves. Plants can then be recycled or harvested and incinerated.
Conversion to Less Hazardous
Substances
Incineration: heating many types of
hazardous waste to high temperatures
– up to 2000 °C – in an incinerator can
break them down and convert them to
less harmful or harmless chemicals.
Conversion to Less Hazardous
Substances
Plasma Torch: passing electrical
current through gas to generate an
electric arc and very high temperatures
can create plasma.
The plasma process can be carried out in a
torch which can decompose liquid or solid
hazardous organic material.
Long-Term Storage of
Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste can be disposed of on or
underneath the earth’s surface, but without
proper design and care this can pollute the
air and water.
Deep-well disposal: liquid hazardous
wastes are pumped under pressure into
dry porous rock far beneath aquifers.
Surface impoundments: excavated
depressions such as ponds, pits, or lagoons
into which liners are placed and liquid
hazardous wastes are stored.
Long-Term Storage of
Hazardous Waste
Long-Term Retrievable Storage:
Some highly toxic materials cannot be
detoxified or destroyed. Metal drums
are used to stored them in areas that
can be inspected and retrieved.
Secure Landfills: Sometimes
hazardous waste are put into drums
and buried in carefully designed and
monitored sites.
Secure Hazardous Waste
Landfill
In the U.S. there
are only 23
commercial
hazardous waste
landfills.
Figure 22-
ACHIEVING A LOW-WASTE
SOCIETY
In the U.S., citizens have kept large
numbers of incinerators, landfills, and
hazardous waste treatment plants
from being built in their local areas.
Environmental justice means that
everyone is entitled to protection from
environmental hazards without
discrimination.
Global Outlook: International Action
to Reduce Hazardous Waste
An international treaty calls for
phasing out the use of harmful
persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
POPs are insoluble in water and soluble in
fat.
Nearly every person on earth has
detectable levels of POPs in their blood.
The U.S has not ratified this treaty.
Making the Transition to a LowWaste Society: A New Vision
Everything is connected.
There is no “away” for the wastes we
produce.
Dilution is not always the solution to
pollution.
The best and cheapest way to deal
with wastes are reduction and
pollution prevention.