Chapter Summary

We produce enormous volumes of waste in industrialized societies, and there is an increasing problem of how to dispose of this material in an environmentally safe manner. In this chapter, we have looked at the character of our solid and hazardous wastes. We have surveyed the ways we dispose of our wastes and the environmental problems associated with waste disposal.

Solid wastes are domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and mining wastes that are primarily nontoxic. About 60 percent of our domestic and industrial wastes are deposited in landfills; most of the rest is incinerated or recycled. Old landfills were often messy and leaky, but new ones are required to have impermeable clay or plastic linings, drainage, and careful siting. Incineration can destroy organic compounds, but whether incinerators can or will be operated satisfactorily is a matter of debate. Recycling is growing nationwide, encouraged by the economic and environmental benefits it brings. City leaders tend to doubt the viability of recycling programs, but successful programs have been sustained in other countries and in some American cities.

Near major urban centers, land suitable for waste disposal is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Annual costs for solid waste disposal currently total nearly $10 billion in the United States and are expected to climb to $100 billion per year in a few decades. Some cities now ship their refuse to other states or even other countries, but worries about toxic and hazardous material in the waste are leading to increasing resistance to shipping or storing it.

Hazardous and toxic wastes, when released into the environment, cause such health problems as birth defects, neurological disorders, reduced resistance to infection, and cancer. Environmental losses include contamination of water supplies, poisoning of the soil, and destruction of habitat. The major categories of hazardous wastes are ignitable, corrosive, reactive, explosive, and toxic. Some materials of the greatest concern are heavy metals, solvents, and synthetic organic chemicals such as halogenated hydrocarbons, organophosphates, and phenoxy herbicides.

Disposal practices for solid and hazardous wastes have often been unsatisfactory. Thousands of abandoned, often unknown waste disposal sites still leak toxic materials into the environment. Some alternative techniques for treating or disposing of hazardous wastes include not making the material in the first place, incineration, secure landfill, and physical, chemical, or biological treatment to detoxify or immobilize wastes. People are often unwilling to have transfer facilities, storage sites, disposal operations, or transportation of hazardous or toxic materials in or through their cities. Questions of safety and liability remain unanswered in solid and hazardous waste disposal.