The Waste Crisis : Landfills, Incinerators, and the Search for a Sustainable Future

As populations continue to increase, society produces more and more waste. Yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to build new landfills, and the existing landfills are causing significant environmental damage. Finding solutions is not simple; the problem is enormous in size, vital in terms of its impact on the environment, and complex in scope. This book provides a vast look at solid waste management in North America and seeks solutions to the waste crisis. It describes the magnitude and complexity of the problem, focusing on municipal wastes and placing them in the perspective of other wastes such as hazardous, biochemical, and radioactive debris. It describes the components of an integrated waste management program, including recycling, composting, landfills, and waste incinerators, and it presents in detail the scientific and engineering principles underlying these technologies. To illustrate both the problems and solutions of waste management programs, the authors provide seven case histories, among them the Fresh Kills (Staten Island, New York), the East Carbon Landfill (Utah), and the Lancaster County Municipal Waste Incinerator (Pennsylvania). The Waste Crisis is unique in its attempt to analyze waste management in a broader societal context and to propose solutions based on basic principles. And by doing so, it encourages readers to challenge commonly held perceptions and to seek new and better ways of dealing with waste. As such, this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone who deals with or feels the need to confront the growing problems of waste management. Contents......Page 12 1 Waste......Page 18 Magnitude of the Problem......Page 20 Life Inside a Landfill......Page 22 Looking for Solutions......Page 23 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 24 Sustainable Development......Page 26 General Principles......Page 29 Public Involvement......Page 30 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 32 Garbage through the Ages......Page 34 America After the Turn of the Century......Page 37 The Age of Consumerism and the Waste Explosion......Page 40 The Crisis......Page 43 Summary of Landfill Evolution......Page 45 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 47 What Is Integrated Waste Management?......Page 48 Comparative Cost Analysis—Apples and Oranges?......Page 51 How Much Recycling Is Achievable? Exploding the Myth......Page 53 The Bottom Line......Page 58 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 74 Recycling......Page 60 Composting......Page 66 Classifying Wastes by Generator......Page 76 Classifying Waste by Chemical Composition......Page 85 Waste Characteristics......Page 91 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 101 Siting......Page 104 Landfill Design: Anatomy of a Landfill......Page 108 Operation......Page 115 Landfill Dynamics: Decomposition......Page 118 Leachate......Page 122 Landfill Gas: An Exploitable Resource......Page 126 Environmental Monitoring......Page 132 Closure and Post-Closure Care......Page 135 Future Developments......Page 137 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 138 Existing and Abandoned Mines: The Hole Is Already There......Page 140 Landfill Mining: "Play it Again, Sam"......Page 145 Ocean Dumping: "Out of Sight, Out of Mind"......Page 149 Deep-Well Injection......Page 154 Injection with Hydrofracturing......Page 155 Exotic Solutions......Page 156 Summary......Page 158 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 159 9 Incineration: The Burning Issue......Page 160 Types of Incinerators......Page 162 Air Emissions......Page 168 What to Do with the Ash?......Page 174 The Case Against Incineration......Page 176 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 179 Plastics and Polymers......Page 182 Clay Materials......Page 186 Waste Treatment......Page 188 Containing Wastes......Page 190 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 193 State-of-the-Art Recycling: The Guelph Wet-Dry Recycling Centre......Page 194 A Monster: The Fresh Kills Landfill......Page 207 A Modern Nonhazardous Landfill: East Carbon......Page 212 An Open Pit Megaproject: Eagle Mountain Landfill......Page 216 An Integrated Hazardous Waste Facility: Swan Hills......Page 220 Nuclear Waste Disposal: The High-Tech Approach......Page 226 Burn Baby Burn: The Lancaster County Incinerator......Page 232 Conclusion......Page 237 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 238 12 The All-Powerful NIMBY......Page 240 The Causes of NIMBY......Page 241 Radioactive Waste: NIMBY on the Grandest Scale......Page 243 A Rare Success Story: Swan Hills, Alberta......Page 250 Building an Equitable Siting Process......Page 252 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 259 Starting from Basics......Page 260 Guidelines......Page 262 Breaking Dependence on Near-Surface Landfills......Page 264 Change in Emphasis—A New Waste Management Hierarchy......Page 266 Non-Technical Issues......Page 267 Discussion Topics and Assignments......Page 269 14 Futuristic Garbology: A Vision......Page 272 B......Page 280 G......Page 281 M......Page 282 S......Page 283 W......Page 284 References......Page 286 F......Page 292 O......Page 293 W......Page 294 "This book provides an extensive look at solid waste management in North America and seeks genuine solutions to the waste crisis. It examines the magnitude and intricacy of the problem, focusing on municipal wastes and analyzing them in relation to hazardous, biochemical, and radioactive wastes. It explains the components of an integrated waste management program, including recycling, composting, municipal landfills, and waste incinerators, and it describes the scientific and engineering principles underlying these technologies. Seven case histories illustrate both the problems and solutions for waste management programs." "The Waste Crisis is unique in its attempt to analyze waste management in a broader societal context and to propose solutions based on basic principles. It encourages readers to challenge commonly held observations about garbage and to seek new and better ways of dealing with waste."--Jacket This textbook examines solid waste management in North America and solutions to the waste crisis, using seven case studies for illustration. The focus is on municipal waste, but this is placed in the perspective of hazardous, biomedical, and radioactive wastes as well.