Chris NewmanEnvironmental Scientist

USEPA

Solid Waste and Recycling

Overview

• Overview of Waste in America• Waste and Recycling 101• Relating Waste to Climate Change• Consequences of Landfill

Overview of Waste in America

Solid Waste Generation• 2009 MSW figures

– 243 million tons of waste generated• 135 million tons disposed in a landfill• 82 million tons recycled • 29 million tons combusted

– 4.5 lbs/person/day generated– 33.2% national recovery rate

• 40% generated outside home– Parks, sports arenas, transportation systems, shopping centers

If every American recycled just one plastic beverage bottle while ‘on the go,’ we could prevent the disposal of more than 8,000 tons of recyclable material

This is equivalent to 608 Sears Towers (by weight)!!

Generation (1960 – 2009)

http://www.epa.gov/msw/pubs/ex-sum05.pdf

Recycling (1960 – 2009)

http://www.epa.gov/msw/pubs/ex-sum05.pdf

Cook and Surrounding Counties

• Counties 9• Area (square miles) 5,109• Population (est.)

8,827,903• Percent of Total Illinois

Population 67.8%• 8 Active Landfills as of

2008• 9 Years of Landfill life

expectancy

Recycling: Northeast Region• Cook County:

– Generated: 15 million Tons

– Recycled: 6 million tons (42.5 % rate)• Recycling can include:

Traditional recyclables, Construction & Demolition Debris

The Northeast Counties landfilled the equivalent of 171 Nimitz class aircraft carriers in 2009

Waste and Recycling 101

How Waste Flows

• Transfer Stations• Landfills• Recycling

– Traditional Recyclables– Compost– E-waste

Flow Diagram

Landfill

Generator Garbage/Recycling Truck

Transfer Station

Long-Haul Garbage Truck

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)

Manufacturing Facility

Landfill Operation

Composting

Electronic Waste

Relating Waste to Climate Change

Climate Change Overview

• Climate Change Background• Connecting Waste to Climate

Change

Climate Change is More than Just Warming.

CO2 Concentrations:Unprecedented in 650,000 years

Sector-Based View of U.S. GHG Emissions (2006)

This figure reflects data from the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006 (U.S. EPA, 2008), Table 2-12. This figure excludes emissions from U.S. territories, which are not allocated to economic sectors.

GHGs and Climate Change: Sector-based Approach

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The Materials – Climate Connection

U.S. GHG Emissions (2006)

Source: Opportunities to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Materials and Land Management Practices, U.S. EPA, September 2009, www.epa.gov/oswer/docs/ghg_land_and_materials_management.pdf

Connecting Waste to Climate Change

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/downloads/execsum.pdf

Recycling Saves Energy!

Current Benefits of Recycling

• Energy Benefits: 1.3 quadrillion BTU– Equivalent to 224 million

barrels of oil

• Climate Benefits: 178 million MTCO2e– Equivalent to emissions

from 33 million cars

Environmental Impacts of Landfills

Consequences of Landfill

• Leachate• Gas and Odors• Groundwater• Reactive Wastes

Leachate

Leachate Seeps

Gas and Odors

Offsite Monitoring

Groundwater

Groundwater Remediation

• The garbage patch is located in a remote area of the North Pacific Tropical Gyre

• The clockwise motion of the ocean’s currents brings sea debris/garbage to this area from all over the ocean, most of which is plastic.

• The garbage patch is roughly two times the size of Texas.

Pacific Garbage Patch

http://merosoch.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/pacific-garbage-patch1.jpg

There are Others!

Indian Ocean Patch Atlantic Ocean Patch

What is Being Done?• EPA is working with NOAA to

develop coastal Debris Management Plans– identifying sources of marine

debris – developing recommendations to

mitigate sources of Marine Debris

• Private and non-profit organizations are researching possible clean-up options– i.e. Project Kaisei

Questions??