Solid Waste Management
Lecture 2
Dr. Amal Elsonbaty
Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering
Email: [Link]@[Link]
Recycling
Recyclables: Paper and cardboards, glass, plastic,
metal (e.g. Aluminium)
Recycling is the process of transforming waste into
new products or raw materials that can be reused
and the goal of recycling is to reduce the
consumption of natural resources, decrease
environmental impacts, reduce pollution, and
minimize the amount of waste that ends up in
landfills or incinerators.
Paper Recycling
Paper is derived from plant fibers, primarily wood and are used for various products such as
for packaging material, newsprint, and advertisements
Recycling steps:
1. Sorting and removal of impurtities.
2. Repulping or grinding (Mechanical or chemically ).
3. Mechanical repulping yields lower quality paper than chemical repulping.
4. The paper is mixed with water to produce a slurry.
5. This slurry is then thickened before being pressed.
6. Bleaching or whitening is optional.
7. After being pressed, the paper is dried, and is then can be sold as sheets or rolled.
• However, paper recycling will never be able to close the loop fully due to quality loss and shortening
of fibers during repulping process.
• Contaminetd paper packages with food or grease can not be recycled.
Paper Recycling
[Link]
[Link]
Paper Recycling
• According to several life cycle assessment studies, recycling has a better
environmental performance than landfilling and incineration of paper.
Glass Recycling
Glass Recycling
There are three types of glass:
• Sodalime glass, which is used for bottles, jars, drinking glasses and window glass, is
typically produced from 70–75% quartz sand (SiO2, particle size 0.1–0.4 mm), 12–
16%soda (Na2O, Na2CO3), 10–15%lime (CaO, CaCO3) and traces of other
materials.
• Crystal glass, which is used for high-quality drinking glasses, is typically produced
from 54–65% SiO2, 18–38% PbO, 13–15% Na2O or K2O and various other oxides.
• Borosilicate glass (Pyrex glass), which is used for laboratory glassware, kitchen
glassware and high-temperature lamps, is typically produced from 70–78% SiO2,
7–13% B2O3, 4–8%Na2O or K2O and 2–7% Al2O3. Borosilicate glass is corrosion-
and temperature-resistant.
• Soda-lime glass is only important for waste recycling by re-melting due to its big
amounts, but it should not be mixed with the other two types.
Glass Recycling
Glass can either be reused or recycled:
1. Glass can be broken, and then this broken glass is called "cullet” and it
is remelted and used for the production of new bottles.
2. Glass can also be used as substitute of other building materials, such
as gravel and fillers.
• As long as contaminants are removed, there is no quality loss of glass in
the recycling process. Glass can be recycled in an infinite number of
times without losing its quality. However, if colored cullet is mixed, the
quality degrades.
Glass Recycling
Recycling steps:
1. The cullet is obtained from storage, and it is manually separated and
washed.
2. Then this broken glass is introduced in the furnace, to be remelted.
3. The melted glass is used for production of new bottles which are then
sold again.
• Cullet has advantage that it prolongs furnace life, as it melts at lower
temperatures
Glass Recycling
[Link]
Glass Recycling
Plastic Recycling
• Plastic is produced from fossil oil, which is distilled to fractions
containing a mixture of hydrocarbon chains and, subsequently, cracked
into repeating molecular units, ‘monomers’. The monomers are
synthesized into polymers forming the base material, e.g. granulate or
powder, which can be manufactured to different shapes and products
by several mechanical means such as extruding and molding.
• Check plastic types (Important pdf file):
[Link]
xternal_files/Screen13_PlasticRecycling.pdf
Plastic Recycling
Mechanical recycling steps:
1. Sorting different plastic colors and types.
2. Sometimes material needs to be prepared for transportation, and that
requires compacting by using a truck.
3. After the material arrival, it will be washed to remove any organic waste
and impurities.
4. The washed plastics are then dried.
5. Once they are dried, the plastic is cut into chips.
6. The chips are then ready for extrusion. When mixed colored chips of
plastic are extruded, we obtain a black plastic.
7. This finalized plastic is then ready to be pelletized.
Plastic Recycling
[Link]
Plastic Recycling
Metal Recycling
Iron and steel production:
• Metals like iron and aluminium are produced from mineral ore and used for a
range of products, some of which have very short lifetimes and thus constitute a
major fraction of municipal waste.
• Packaging in terms of cans, foils and containers are products with a short lifetime.
• Other products like appliances, vehicles and buildings, containing iron and
aluminium metals, have long lifetimes before they end up in the waste stream.
• Some metal smelters are today entirely based on scarp metals.
• Copper and other metals are also found in waste but in much smaller quantities
than iron and aluminium; and the majority of these metals are found in waste
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Metal Recycling
Metal Recycling
The types of waste steel and aluminium being recycled are:
• Metal scrap originating from industry, construction and demolition all over
the world are collected, sorted and baled by scraper dealers, who sell it to
smelters.
• End-of-life vehicles, appliance, white goods etc. are typically taken apart and
the metal parts shredded, sorted (magnetic and eddy-current separators)
and cleaned before being baled for sale on the world market.
• Postconsumer waste in terms of packaging and small metal things discarded
in the municipal waste may be separately collected or recovered as scrap
from a Mechanical Biological Treatment plant or from the bottom ash of
incinerators.
Metal Recycling
Metal recycling steps:
1. Cleaning the material; this might involve the tinning, the coating, and
deoiling.
2. Once the material is cleaned and sorted, this is introduced in the
furnace and is smelted.
3. The smelted metal is then used to generate new products.
• A clean metal scrap can be recycled without loss of quality.
Metal Recycling
[Link]
Metal Recycling
Waste Disposal
Sanitary Landfill Siting Criteria
Sanitary Landfills
• In sanitary landfills, cells are designated sections where waste is unloaded and disposed.
These areas are organized and separated to ensure efficient filling and management of
waste over time.
• Effective drainage of landfill leachate is necessary to prevent infiltration, using a pervious
drainage layer and access tubes for future maintenance.
• An impermeable base layer, preferably made of locally available mineral materials (e.g., a
mix of sand and clay), is essential to prevent leachate infiltration into groundwater.
• Leachate is challenging to treat; storing it in large basins and recycling it back into the
waste system is often the most effective approach.
• Capturing and evacuating rainwater is important to prevent erosion on the landfill’s top
surface.
• Methane and other gases produced from organic waste degradation should be collected
and burned to reduce odors and greenhouse gas emissions, and to generate electricity.
Sanitary Landfill
What is Hazardous Solid Waste
• Based on the Basel Convention, hazardous wastes are the wastes that
can be produced from households, clinics, and hospitals and possess any
of the following characteristics:
• Explosive,
• Flammable,
• Combustible,
• Oxidizing wastes,
• Poisonous,
• Infectious substances,
• Toxic or ecotoxic
• Corrosive.
E-Waste
• It is also referred as Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE). It is the waste generated from a broad range of electronic
products and its parts, that had been discarded by its owner, without
any intent of use such as computers, televisions, or video games, as
well as all kinds of electrical equipment, often divided into large
equipment (washing machines, air-conditioners, freezers, etc., small
equipment (hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, etc.), and IT equipment
such as cell phones.
Composition of E-waste
Healthcare Waste
Healthcare Waste
Management of Hazardous Waste
• The segregated hazardous waste should be stored in small containers
and labelled.
• These containers must be kept in good condition and closed or
covered in order to avoid leaks or damage and to protect them from
weather.
• If hazardous waste is transported, generators should deal with
authorized collectors to collect their waste.
• If such waste will cross borders from one country to another, it should
be reported to the Basel Convention Secretariat.
References
• Solid Waste Technology & Management, 2010
• Decision Makers Guide to Solid Waste Landfills, World Bank
• Decision Maker’s Guides for Solid Waste Management Technologies,
Sanitary Landfills.
• Solid Waste Management, World Bank Group, MOOC, 2022
• Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries, École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, MOOC, 2022
• Observations of Solid Waste Landfills in Developing Countries, World
Bank, 1999
Thank You