Advanced Solid Waste Management and Recycling - Essay Sample

Introduction

A front loader garbage truck of 40 cu. Yd collects municipal solid waste each week from dumpster bins of apartment complexes located throughout the city. The waste in the truck is compacted to 750 pounds/cu. Yd. The un-compacted waste in the dumpster bin is 175 pounds / cu. yd. (For all parts of this question, be sure to show all of your work.)

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How many full dumpster bins with a 3 cu. yd. capacity can be placed into the garbage truck?

Amount of Municipal Solid Waste that can be filled in the garbage truck:

The volume (v) = 40yd3 and p is the particle density which is mass/volume

Mass = 750 lb.

Therefore p = 750 lb. /yd3

Lbs. of MSW in garbage truck = 40yd3 x 750lb. /yd3 = 30,000 lbs. in garbage truck

Number of pounds of MSW in the dumpster bin:

V =3yd3 and p = 175lb. / yd3

Lbs. of MSW in dumpster bin = 3 yd3 x 175 lb. / yd3 = 525 lbs. in dumpster bin

Number of dumpster bins of MSW that can fit in the garbage truck:

Number of dumpsters = (30,000lbs. /garbage truck) x (1 dumpster bin/525 lbs) = 57 dumpster bins

If the apartment complex has a mandatory recycling program and each person places only 4 pounds/day of trash into the dumpster bin, how many people can the garbage truck serve before it is full?

Number of pounds per week 4pounds x 7 days (1week) = 28 pounds/week

Number of people using each dumpster = 525 lbs/28 = 19 people per dumpsite

Number of people served = 19 people x 57 dumpster bins = 1083 people

If the apartment complex has a mandatory recycling program and each person places only 3.5 pounds/day of trash into the dumpster bin, how many more people can the garbage truck serve before it is full?

Number of pounds per week = 3.5 x 7 = 24.5 lbs.

Number of people using each dumpster = 525 / 24.5 = 21 people

Number of people served = 21 people x 57 dumpsters = 1197 people

More people served by the garbage truck = 1197 - 1083 = 114 more people

A municipal government has hired you to help them with its recycle program. Using the information in Table 2-13 on P. 65 of the textbook, propose three key areas where you would focus the municipal program and give your reasons for your proposals. In your answer, be sure to discuss how this program would affect the population of the municipality. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

The three areas of recycling program I would focus on include plastics, glass and metals. The main reason for recycling plastics is that they do not biodegrade in landfills. When left deposited, they may pollute the soil. Recycling them decreases the amount of wastes that goes to the landfills (Singh et al., 2017). This helps in preventing land and water pollution since landfill contributes to the destruction of the environment. Just like plastics, glasses do not decay, and the best way to manage their waste is through recycling. Glass recycling is a recommended method that preserves the environment. In particular, this program reduces air and water pollution. Studies have shown that glass produced by recycling reduces water pollution by around% and related air pollution by nearly 20% (Huffman et al., 2014). Reducing air and water pollution benefits the ecosystem.

The last area to focus on is the recycling of metals like steel, aluminium and other nonferrous metals. Recycling these metals lowers the level of greenhouse gas emissions released during the production of metal from virgin ore. Also, providing an alternative o virgin ore by recycling metals reduces the destructive mining environment. Mining operations pollute air, soil and water and also devastates the delicate natural resources. Metal recycling, therefore, is the solution to these kinds of pollution. All the three areas are beneficial to the ecosystem by making the population of municipality live in a pollution-free environment.

A mobile phone is comprised of 15.5% of copper and nickel, and silver comprises 2.5% as broken down on p. 66, Fig 2-15. These three metals represent 83% of the potential toxicity that the components of the phone can exert on the environment. Describe how copper is toxic to the environment and how this can affect the residents of an area. (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 200 words.)

When copper enters the soil, it combines with the minerals and the organic matter. In the process, it gets attached to these materials and may get into groundwater after release. It can dissolve in water and get suspended on sludge particles or as free ions (Al-Homaidan et al., 2014). Copper does not break down in the environment. As such, it can accumulate in animals and plants when it is available in the soil. Copper-rich soils make it hard for plants to survive. It is because copper toxicity in plants inhibits iron uptake, thus causing stunted growth in plants (Worrell, Vesilind, & Ludwig, 2016). Excess soil copper can also inhibit the germination of seeds. That is the reason for the lack of plant diversity near copper-disposing sites.

Additionally, copper can interfere with soil activity because it can affect the activity of earthworms and microorganisms. When farmland soil is contaminated with copper, animals will absorb the concentrations which are harmful to their health. Ingesting high doses of copper may damage liver and kidney, and, on some occasions, it can cause death (Al-Homaidan et al., 2014). Elevated copper levels are also poisonous in aquatic environments as it may increase the mortality rate of marine animals, thus resulting in a decrease in reproduction, growth and survival.

Describe the elements of the Integrated Solid Waste Management program. Give a detailed discussion and explanation as to which element has the highest potential to the success of the program. What science and engineering principles are involved in this program? (Your total response for all parts of this question should be at least 300 words.)

Integrated solid waste management refers to the application of strategic methods used to manage solid wastes. The elements of integrated solid waste management include recycling and compositing, reducing, waste transportation and landfilling. Recycling and compositing involve the processes of accumulating, sorting and reprocessing materials that are recyclable to produce new products (Leblanc, 2018). Compositing consists of the accumulation and conversion of organic materials into soil additives. Other than environmental preservation benefits, the recycling and composition have economic benefits which include job creation and cost-effectiveness whereby waste products are converted into other materials for future use. They also reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

Source reduction or waste prevention aims at limiting additional waste production. It takes various approaches namely; recycling and reusing; refurbishing goods to durable product life; redesigning products; and reducing packaging of goods. Another technique is reducing food spoilage and waste by paying attention to food processing and storage. The last is avoiding non-durable items that cannot be re-used or recycled. This method is beneficial because it helps in reducing disposal costs, waste handling and transportation.

Waste transformation is a management tool that includes movement of wastes over a specific area by trucks, trains, tankers, and barges. The type of garbage transported may consist of municipal garbage, hazardous and radioactive wastes. Hazardous wastes may be carried for disposal, treatment or storage.

The last integrated, robust waste management method is disposal. Disposal measure is often taken to manage non-recyclable wastes. The plans for deposition may include the use of landfills and combustion. The most appropriate way of handling these wastes is through the use of well-constructed landfills. Overall, all four management programs are most appropriate in managing solid wastes, and they all can shape the success of the program (Leblanc, 2018). The science of leaching and the recycling engineering principle may be used in this program to manage the solid wastes.

References

Al-Homaidan, A. A., Al-Houri, H. J., Al-Hazzani, A. A., Elgaaly, G., & Moubayed, N. M. (2014). Biosorption of copper ions from aqueous solutions by Spirulina platensis biomass. Arabian Journal of Chemistry , 7 (1), 57-62.

Huffman, A. H., Van Der Werff, B. R., Henning, J. B., & Watrous-Rodriguez, K. (2014). When do recycling attitudes predict recycling? An investigation of self-reported versus observed behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology , 38 (1), 262-270.

Leblanc, R. (2018, April 29th). The balancesmall business. Retrieved April 16th, 2019, from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/integrated-solid-waste-management-iswm-an-overview-2878106

Singh, N., Hui, D., Singh, R., Ahuja, I. P., Feo, L., & Fraternali, F. (2017). Recycling of plastic solid waste: A state of art review and future applications. Composites Part B: Engineering , 115 (1), 409-422.

Worrell, W. A., Vesilind, P. A., & Ludwig, C. (2016). Solid waste engineering: a global perspective. Ontario: Nelson Education.