Waste Managment Flashcards
(23 cards)
Which countries produce almost half the world’s waste?
the OECD countries
Which countries produce the least waste?
Africa and South Asia
Which countries waste is increasing fastest?
East Asia, East Europe, Middle East
How much is waste generation expected to increase by 2025?
70%
How much waste does Canada produce per capita?
777kg
What affects generation of waste?
GDP, people per household, economy type (service industries produce less waste)
Preference for disposable items
Environment concern
What do we do with solid waste?
Recycle, incinerate, open dumps, sanitary landfills
Where does 75% of Canada’s solid waste go and 66% of Europe’s?
Landfills
Which countries incinerate the most?
Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg
Which countries recycle or compost the most?
Netherlands, Germany, Austria
Which countries landfill the most?
Greece, Portugal, UK
Impacts of landfills
Require land
Pollute groundwater, soil, atmo
Disease vectors - rats, flies
Nuisance problems - dust, smell, noise
How do landfills pollute?
Leachates enter water systems
Heavy metal contamination
CO2 and CH4 emissions
Outline open landfills
Waste can directly release waste to surroundings
Common in developing nations
Scavengers often set on fire
2% of people in Asia and Latin America earn income by scavenging
Outline Sanitary Landfills
Synthetic or clay liner to contain waste
Waste spread out in layers and compacted - each layer covered in clay or plastic
Leachates are collected and stored or used
Monitoring for leaks
Waste is covered and left to decompose
Advantages of Incineration
Reduces bulk, lowers water pollution, produces electricity, heat energy
Disadvantages of Incineration
Harmful emissions - heavy metals, dioxins
LULU - locally undesirable land uses
Toxic ash needs to be disposed of
How does Japan use incinerated material?
They melt ash and crystallize it into hard stone building material.
What are sources of hazardous waste?
petroleum products, pulp and paper, solvents, paints, batteries, pesticides
Does not include explosives or radioactive waste
400 million tons worldwide per year
40% treated, 60% untreated
2.5kg per year per person
Where does Canada rank on hazardous waste?
4th most
What is the Basel Convention?
First global attempt to regulate international transport of hazardous waste
Problems with e-waste
wastes from electronic devices - lead, cadmium, mercury 50 million tons/yr
75% of donated computers are garbage
Illegal dumping of hazardous wastes
Ivory Coast 2006 incident
Dutch ship dumped toxic sludge that killed 17 people and 100k needed treatment for burns to skin and lungs. Would have cost 300,000 to safely dispose in Europe
