# Solid waste 4.50

<div id="bkmrk-4.50%3A-solid-waste"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4.50: Solid waste</span></div><div id="bkmrk-solid-waste%3A-produce">Solid waste: produced by humans, non-toxic, results of civilization  
  
</div><div id="bkmrk-bozeman-science%3A"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bozeman science:</span></div><div id="bkmrk-full-listing%3A"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Full listing:</span></div><div id="bkmrk-https%3A%2F%2Felab.local%2Fa">[https://elab.local/apes/videos/bozeman\_science/](https://elab.local/apes/videos/bozeman_science/)  
</div><div id="bkmrk-solid-waste%3A"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Solid waste:</span></div><div id="bkmrk-http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bozemansc">[http://www.bozemanscience.com/ap-es-031-solid-waste](http://www.bozemanscience.com/ap-es-031-solid-waste)  
</div><div id="bkmrk--1">  
</div><div id="bkmrk-primitive-societies-">

- Primitive societies had no solid waste: they used everything, or it degraded naturally (dispersed, not concentrated)
- The "disposable society" meant buying instead of repairing: post WWII (affluence)
- MSW: Municipal (e.g. city) Solid Waste, 60% residential, 40% commercial
- Solid waste per capita (per head) 2 kg/person per day in US,
- In lesser developed countries (LDC) the number is 0.5 kg/person per day
- why?
- Definition of waste stream: everything-landfill, recycling etc.
- Electronic waste "ewaste": new problem: heavy metals, don't degrade, toxic, growing with IPAT

</div><div id="bkmrk-msw-destinations%3A"><span style="font-weight: bold;">MSW destinations:</span></div><div class="sandbox" id="bkmrk--3"><div id="bkmrk--4"><div id="bkmrk--5"><div><div class="container"><div class="frontside"><div class="iframe">![](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/B97CmAWFBksq5yO3-screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10-42-16-am-vwxrxmew.png)</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="bkmrk-landfills%3A-used-to-b"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Landfills</span>: used to be piled up on surface, then dug into ground, leachate (liquid) flowed into water table, gases (methane, CH4) into atmosphere</div><div id="bkmrk-sanitary-landfill%3A-l"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanitary landfill:</span> liner catches leachate, surface is covered and methane captured for use as fuel</div><div id="bkmrk--7"></div><div class="sandbox" id="bkmrk--9"><div id="bkmrk--10"><div id="bkmrk--11"><div><div class="container"><div class="frontside"><div class="iframe">![](https://bookstack.kamuela.org/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/dXRCQ5Q6XZedGDWA-screenshot-2023-03-22-at-10-44-18-am-maakqnat.png)</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="bkmrk--12"></div>

- "Tipping" fee: very high in Hawaii (limited space), even higher on other islands (San Juan Is. = $6 per bag)
- Another option: incineration-can be for energy (H-power on Oahu) or others
- Japan uses plasma incineration for medical waste: completely ionizes viruses
- Fly ash is toxic, banned for use in EU (heavy metals)
- Ocean dumping was common, now largely illegal (still done though)

<div id="bkmrk-hazardous-waste%3A%C2%A0dif"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hazardous waste:</span> different category: toxic and hazardous are too general</div><div id="bkmrk-toxic-hazardous-wast">

- Toxic hazardous waste: e.g. fly ash, heavy metals
- Flammable <span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hazardous </span></span><span></span>waste: burns
- Reactive <span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hazardous </span></span><span></span>waste: chemically active, e.g. oxidizers
- Radioactive <span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hazardous </span></span><span></span>waste: just like it sounds

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Superfund</span>: created in 1980, as <span style="font-weight: bold;">CERCLA</span></div></div><div id="bkmrk-comprehensive-%C2%A0envir">Comprehensive  Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act</div><div id="bkmrk-comprehensive%3A-cover">

- Comprehensive: covers everyone
- Environmental: like is sounds
- Response: they respond to environmental situations
- Compensation: they pay victims
- Liability: they go after the polluters

<div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Superfund example:</span> [Love canal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_disaster)</div></div><div id="bkmrk-hooker-chemical%2C-tox">Hooker chemical, toxic waste, cancer in kids  
Superfund is paid for by tax on chemical and other factories  
  
Another law: </div><div id="bkmrk-rcra%3A-resource-conse"><span style="font-weight: bold;">RCRA</span>: resource conservation and recovery act</div><div id="bkmrk-rcra-tracks-solid-wa">RCRA tracks solid waste, "cradle to grave" responsibility  
  
</div><div id="bkmrk-brownfields%3A-behind-"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brownfields</span>: behind the elab is an example, so is the train yard in Portland (e2: sense of place)</div><div id="bkmrk-contaminated-industr">Contaminated industrial or commercial sites</div>  
---

<small>Migrated from Apple Server Wiki. Original page ID: S4V9H4</small>