Sustainable Waste Management

Sustainable Waste Management

Overview
municipal solid waste (MSW)
history
todays numbers
landfills

three Rs

History: Prior to (and during) WWII

little MSW
generated
high reuse
goods made for
repair not disposal
war rationing

History: Post WWII

consumption increases
economy based on consumption

How do we stack up?

What we generate

What we do with it

Small towns used to have individual

dumps
now restricted to permitted landfills
many small towns have transfer
stations instead
waste collected for further
transportation
save money on labor and operating costs

Landfills

Landfill Structure

Landfills in US

Landfills
design has improved over the years
plastic liner, leachate and methane
collection, and monitoring

still there are landfill sitting

problems
NIMBY
LULU
NIMTOO

Landfills
design has improved over the years
plastic liner, leachate and methane
collection, and monitoring

still there are landfill sitting

problems
NIMBY Not In My Back Yard
LULU Locally Unwanted Land Use
NIMTOO Not In My Term of Office

Landfills
+
Packed tightly, fit
large amount of
trash in small area
No air pollution (as
from incineration)
Methane used for
energy
Recreational Use

Leachate
generation water
cont.
Incomplete
decomposition (lack
of H20)
Aesthetics

Waste to energy
90 plants in US, renewable energy?
about 12% of waste is currently
burned
reduce weight and volume of trash
make useable energy
but, toxic emissions are a possibility

Waste-to-energy

How Can We Manage Our MSW

Sustainably?
The 3 Rs

REDUCE
REUSE
RECYCLE

The Reduction Approach

buy less?
buy more durable goods as opposed to
disposable ones
manufacturers are reducing the size of
goods and size of packaging
2 liter bottles and 1 gallon milk jug weigh
33% less now than in 1970s

The Reuse Approach

maximize the lifespan of a material in
the production-consumption cycle.
examples?
just reusing a container for a different
purpose
Bottle Bill
thrift stores
Dump and Run local
www.universityymca.org/dump_and_run/

Bottle Bills
requires buyers to pay a deposit on bottled
goods then it is returned (1st = VT 1953)
most are 5 cents

95% of refillable bottles and 92% of the

aluminum cans are returned (Michigan 96%
of bottles and cans)
35-40% roadside litter reduced

The Recycle Approach

similar to Reuse, but involves
processing of the material.
end-point vs. source separation

composting
the US recycles approximately 33%
of solid municipal wastes

How much do we recycle?

Recycling by material

Weighing the Costs and Benefits

of Recycling
Benefits
Reduces demand for
raw materials
Reduces pollution
Reduces energy needs
Composting provides
nutrients to soils

Costs
$$$ - Usually

Taxpayer
Source separation
involves effort

Promoting Recycling
most efforts involved collection, more focus
needs to be on procurement and
remanufacturing
government efforts
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976
container deposit bills (Bottle Bill)
tax breaks
remove subsidies for raw materials and energy

pay per throw disposal pricing

should we charge per bag/container?

What you can do

recycle, reduce, reuse

dont buy much to begin with
buy used where possible
use containers over and over
compost food waste

Campus Waste Disposal

Brickyard Landfill

UIUC Campus Recycling

Campus Waste Video

where does your trash go?

on campus?

What can you do to reduce

solid waste?
always put recyclable materials in
best receptacle (source separation)
buy less, or with less packaging
educate others (students/friends)
support bottle bills and other
legislation