Environmental Systems and Societies

1. Topic 5
Pollution Management
5.5 Solid domestic waste
http://edroness.blogspot.mx/2013/
12/the-story-of-stuff.html

2. Types of Solid Domestic Waste
disposable
nappies, 3%
paper, 1%
packaging, 4%
textiles, 4%
soil, 4%
garden
scrap metal, 6%
waste, 25%
furniture, 6%
wood, 6%
glass, 9%
household
sweepings, 11%
kitchen
waste, 21%

3. Percentage Composition of Waste
Country
Organics
Paper
Glass
Metals Plastics
Textiles Other
Belgium
43
28
9
4
7
9
0
Denmark
37
30
6
3
7
18
0
Germany
32
24
8
5
9
0
22
France
21
27
7
4
11
2
28
Greece
49
20
5
4
9
13
0
Ireland
42
15
6
4
11
8
14
Italy
32
27
8
4
7
3
19
Luxembourg
41
16
4
3
8
3
25
Netherlands
39
25
8
5
8
15
0
Portugal
39
20
4
2
9
5
21
Spain
44
21
7
4
11
5
8

4. Disposable Nappies (Diapers)
• One of the most problematic
types of domestic waste
• Made of resistant plastics
• Also contain faeces and urine
which may carry disease
• Approx. 3 billion kg disposed of
to landfills in the US per year
• It takes about 500 years for one
nappy to break down completely

5. Management Strategies
1. Reduce
o
o
Producers can consider expanding lifespan of goods and
reducing packaging
Consumers can demand or use less packaging
2. Reuse
o
o
o
Use of refillable bottles – e.g. garafons
Refurbishment of used products
Donation of used items for resale (charity shops)
3. Recover
o
o
o
Recycling
Composting
Incineration to collect heat
4. Dispose
o
Landfill

6. Management Strategies
• Recycling
– Reduces pressure on landfill sites
– Reduces mining, use of oil to produce
plastics and transportation of new
goods
– Not all recycling companies are ethical
and many materials are simply
exported (in 2015, 410 000 tonnes of
plastic were collected for recycling;
approx 57% was exported to Asia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3fOLL10yxY

7. Management Strategies
• Composting
– The recycling of organic material to
produce nutrient-rich soil
– May divert approx. 30% of total
household waste from landfill
– Introduces beneficial microorganisms to
the soil
– Helps to reduce leaching of nutrients and
problems of eutrophication (increasing
amounts of sewage sludge are now being
composted worldwide)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eXRfynD-M8

8. Management Strategies
• Incineration
– Combustion of waste (organic and
inorganic)
– Produces ash, flue gases and heat
– Heat can be used to produce electricity
– Ash is sometimes used to produce paving
slabs, bricks or road fill
– Reduces the amount of waste which is
sent to landfill
– Reduces harmfulness of wastes which
might otherwise go to landfill – e.g.
hospital waste
– Produces polluting gases including CO2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhJRuiEId9Y

9. Disposal Problems
• Landfill Disposal
– Biodegradation of organics in landfills
produces methane (explosive and
greenhouse gas)
– This may also biodegrade to CO2
– Leachates may contaminate rivers and
groundwater, causing eutrophication
– Punishments for not collecting animal
poo (sealing landfills causes increased
methane production
– Cause local problems of noise, smell
and vermin

10. Disposal Problems
• Incineration
– Many waste gases produced –
CO2, SOx, NOx, Cl2, dioxins
– These lead to indirect problems such as acid
rain, smog, global warming, lung diseases etc.
– Large amounts of road traffic, producing more
greenhouse gases, fuel use, noise etc.
Ukranian politician Viktor
Yushchenko before and after
dioxin poisoning

11. Questions
1. Describe the different types of domestic solid
waste
2. Describe and evaluate different pollution
management strategies for domestic solid
waste disposal
3. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages
of disposal to landfill
4. Evaluate the advantages and disadvatages of
disposal by incineration