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Waste Facilities

Waste Facilities are defined as all the sites, buildings and other infrastructure which are used by those organisations responsible for collection, processing and disposing of waste. The term waste facilities is usually used in connection with solid waste, although there also many water borne waste facilities in the form of sewage works, we will limit this article to solid waste facilities.

According to the Waste Business Journal, of San Diego, CA, Collecting, processing and disposing of these wastes generated $55.7 billion in industry revenue, in 2007 alone.

Waste production is more recession resistant than many industries, and given that waste generation rates are a result of steadily increasing population and normal consumer behavior, the US continues to generate waste at a higher rate each year. So, US garbage disposal still grows and with increasing recycling, and re-use of waste materials, the number, and types of waste facilities continue to increase.

We all produce waste and we produce it while we are at work as well. So, it is not surprising that between 25% and 50% of the waste stream is comprised of commercial and industrial wastes from businesses, and that there are many dedicated waste facilities which are used in the collection, recycling and disposal of commercial and industrial waste.

The remaining big producers of solid waste are the raw materials extraction industries and construction and demolition waste, which produce huge tonnages of waste (equal to, and in many countries exceeding, the municipal, industrial waste produced) which they themselves dispose of in their own waste facilities These industries provide us with materials for everything except the organically derived content in waste.

Transfer stations are the first line of waste facilities after waste collection, as it is to a waste transfer station that much of the waste is taken from its place of creation (homes, offices, factories etc). If the waste is not suitable for placing in the trash bin, or “wheely bins” in your yard, it is taken by the public to what are usually known as Household and Garden Waste Reception Centers, also known more and more these days as Community Recycling Centers, and Civic Amenity Sites. These are also transfer stations, because the waste is transferred from its original mode of transport and with or without recycling / processing while at the Transfer Station.

Solid waste disposal sites or landfills (called MSW Landfills, and Sanitary Landfills) are the waste facilities where, in the US, and also the majority of countries worldwide, most of the waste described earlier ends up.

Some industrial processes release wastes of much greater potency to harm human health and the environment if they should escape. Extremely high potency wastes of this type are known as “hazardous waste”. Hazardous wastes must usually be treated in some way before they can be stored in a landfill (sometimes called a waste repository), and there are many waste facilities devoted to doing that.

Emissions are a big concern for waste facilities, and each type of facility produces its own rage of emissions. Landfills are the biggest concern when emissions are considered. If uncontrolled, landfills will produce leachate emissions which can be very harmful to the local water quality. We are talking here about emissions of landfill leachate, into ground waters and landfill gas (which is about 60% methane) into the air. Landfill methane is a greenhouse gas and its emission is about 20 times more harmful in terms of their greenhouse effect than the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during biomass combustion. It is no wonder that waste facilities emissions are a hot topic wherever waste facilities are sited.

Waste facilities process waste, at MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities), MBT (Mechanical Biological Treatment) Plants, Incinerators and Composting Plants.

To summarize, the main municipal waste facility types are:

1. Transfer Stations

2. Household Waste Recycling Centers

3. Landfills

4. MRFs

5. MBTs

6. Incinerators.

Reports: Why Xero Waste? www.ZeroWaste.Org

May 7, 2010 4:19 AM PST

Why Zero Waste? A Zero Waste strategy will lead to faster innovation and movement far beyond incremental approaches that don't include an endpoint goal. It is a bold vision that includes an endpoint goal. While at the start the methods are unknown, without the goal the results cannot be achieved.We recognize that nature is cyclical and has no waste. Our industrial pathways must follow this design set by nature if we are to become sustainable. Zero Waste supports sustainability by reducing extraction from, and eliminating waste to, nature, improving economic efficiency and making more resources available to all. www.ZeroWaste.org