Transcript Waste Disposal - Groton School
Waste Disposal
Mobro 4000
On March 22, 1987, an unassuming barge called the Mobro 4000 began a 6,000 mile voyage, looking for a port that would take its cargo--nearly 3,200 tons of trash. With its escort, the tugboat Break of Day, the Mobro would sail along the coast of the Eastern and Southern United States, down into the Gulf of Mexico and through the Bahamas, before finally returning to New York, still bearing its load of garbage. Taken from “News of the Odd” http://www.newsoftheodd.com/index.html
Love Canal
1927
New Bedford
Excavation of PCB contaminated sediment
Woburn – WR Grace
Types of Waste
• Domestic/Municipal Solid Waste • Non-municipal Solid Waste – Mining – Agriculture – Forestry – Industry • Hazardous Waste – Toxic organics • PCB’s; Dioxin – Toxic Inorganics – Reactive/Flammable • Radioactive Waste – High level – Low level
Municipal Solid Waste
Special Concern • Tires • Plastics • Computers • Residual toxins
Methods of Disposal
• Landfill – Sanitary – Secure • Incineration – Mass Burn, Modular, Refuse derived – Hazardous • Deep Well Injection • Recycling • Composting • Source Reduction – Reuse – Packaging – Alternatives • Detoxification – Remediation
Waste Reduction
• Reduction of waste associated with manufacturing and packaging • Reuse • Recycling – Systems based on sorting – Single stream systems • Integrated Waste Management
Why Promote Composting, Recycling and Integrated Waste Management?
• Lack of sites for sanitary landfills • Reduced contamination of the waste stream • Reduction in the environmental impacts associated with mining and mineral extraction • Reduction in environmental impacts associated with incineration • Energy Conservation (4x more energy required to produce an aluminum can from virgin materials
Hazardous Wastes
Secure Landfill
Incineration
Cost Benefit Analysis • Determination of potential environmental and human health effects for each alternative • Political reality (NIMBY; willingness to comply) • Economic analysis (marginal cost diagram, again) • Internalization of External Costs
Legislative Approaches • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (1976/1986) • Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund, 1980) – National Priorities List • Support of Brownfields Development • Ocean Dumping Ban (1988) • Permitting of Municipal Disposal Sites • Mandated Recycling • Increased Disposal Fees
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act