Sustainable Waste Management and Composting Practices

Benefits of Composting

• Keeps organic wastes out of landfills
• Provides nutrients to the soil
• Increases beneficial soil organisms, e.g., worms
• Suppresses some plant diseases
• Reduces the need for fertilizer and pesticides

Types of Hazardous Waste

• Dyes, cleansers, and solvents
• PCBs from older electrical equipment, heating systems, and TV sets
• Solvents, lubricants, and sealants
• Toxic heavy metals, e.g., lead, mercury, zinc
• Pesticides
• Radioactive wastes from spent fuel

Preventing Hazardous Waste

• Produce less of it
• Find a way to recycle or reuse it

Biodegradable vs. Non-Biodegradable

• Biodegradable products: Newspapers, leather
• Non-biodegradable products: Polyester, plastic

Incinerating Solid Waste

• Advantage: Reduces the amount of solid waste sent to landfills.
• Disadvantage: Incinerated materials are very toxic.

Producing Degradable Plastics

• Advantages: Requires less fossil fuels, is more environmentally friendly, and helps prevent the harmful effects that other plastics have on animals in the environment.
• Disadvantages: Plastic parts are only reduced to smaller pieces; they will remain in landfills for many years.

Comparing Waste Sources

• Municipal: Comes from households and businesses; makes up 2% of total solid waste.
• Manufacturing: Comes from manufacturing; makes up 56% of the total solid waste produced.

Plant and animal matter and products made from natural materials make a material biodegradable.

Vocabulary

Solid waste: Any discarded solid material.

Biodegradable: A material that can be broken down by biological processes.

Municipal SW: Waste produced by households and businesses.

Landfill: A permanent waste disposal facility where waste is put in the ground and covered.

Leachate: A liquid that forms when water seeps down through a landfill and collects dissolved chemicals from decomposing garbage.

Source reduction: Any change in design, manufacture, purchase, or use of materials or products to reduce their amount or toxicity before they become municipal solid waste.

Recycling: The process of reusing materials or recovering valuable materials from waste or scrap.

Compost: A dark brown, crumbly material that is spread on gardens and fields to enrich the soil.

Hazardous waste: Any waste that is a risk to the health of humans or other living things.

Deep well injection: Waste is pumped deep into the ground, where it is absorbed into a dry layer of rock below the level of groundwater.

Surface impoundment: A pond that has a sealed bottom.