Page 155 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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126 Waste Management Practices: Municipal, Hazardous, and Industrial
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Frequently Asked Questions About Recycling and Waste Management,
Municipal Solid Waste, Oct. 2003. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/faq.htm

QUESTIONS

1. MSW compaction in a collection truck allows for increased volumes of waste to be trans-
ported; however, if this compacted material is brought to a materials recovery facility,
there are potential disadvantages. Discuss these problems.
2. In your community, observe the different containers used for the storage of MSW. What
types of collection trucks are used for residential (single-family) neighborhoods?
Apartment complexes? Commercial zones (restaurants, industrial parks, etc.)?
3. In your community, what are the major systems and equipment used for the collection of
domestic and commercial solid wastes? Are there programs for the collection of source-
separated wastes? For household hazardous wastes? Other?
4. In your community, is waste collection carried out by the municipality or by a private
hauler? Who collects the commercial wastes?
5. What recommendations would you make regarding current waste collection in your com-
munity in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency?
6. How are yard wastes managed in your community? Are these materials collected separately
from other wastes? If yard wastes are currently collected along with MSW, what changes
to the collection system would be required in order to collect these wastes separately?
7. In your community, is there a program for collecting recyclable materials? If a program
is in place, what materials are collected and how? Where are the recyclables shipped after
collection? How much of each material (in tons) is collected per month?
8. In your community, how are household hazardous wastes transported to treatment or dis-
posal facilities? In your opinion, is this management scheme effective or are there prob-
lems to address?
9. If your community’s wastes are collected by a municipal system, how much of the
municipal budget is earmarked to cover these costs? Visit the local waste management
office and determine how these costs have changed over the past 10 years or more.
10. You have been hired as a consultant for a small town (population 12,000) that wishes
to begin a municipal program for solid waste collection. The community wants to collect
wastes once per week. What type of collection vehicle would you recommend? What
3
capacity truck would be appropriate (available truck capacities are 14, 16 and 20 yd )?
Is once-per-week collection suitable for this community?
11. Obtain a map of a portion of your community and use the U.S. EPA heuristic routing
guidelines to formulate a suitable route for collection vehicles. Contact the waste hauler
in your community and determine the method used to route collection vehicles.
12. Locate three sites in your community that could serve as locations for transfer stations.
Justify your choices.
13. Discuss the benefits of transfer stations to a community in terms of economics, time sav-
ings, and environmental quality.
14. At your City Hall, obtain the accident records for city employees. Determine the relative
accident rate for solid waste collection employees.