ENV 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Aspirin, Fly Ash, Endocrine Disruptor
Document Summary
Solid waste: materials that we decide have outlived their usefulness and are discarded. Municipal solid waste (msw: solid material discarded by homes, office buildings, retail stores, schools, etc, relatively small portion of solid waste produced. Non-municipal solid waste: solid waste generated by industry, agriculture, and mining, larger portion of solid waste produced. The us generates more solid waste per capita than any other country: over 4. 5 pounds per person per day! Waste generation is highest in hdcs: instead of repairing items, they are replaced. Waste is compacted and buried under a shallow layer of soil. Methane gas production by microorganisms can be piped out, burned for energy. Closing a full landfill is lots of money. Very persistent doesn"t readily break down and decompose. About 85% of plastic used is landfilled, much from packaging. Can be recycled into a few products: playground equipment, garden hoses, roofing materials. Best materials for burning are paper, plastics and rubber.
