Household waste, costs

Dutch legislation classifies a number of domestic products such as paints, medicines, pesticides and all types of batteries, as small chemical waste (KCA). Importers or manufacturers of these products are required to mark them with a special KCA symbol either on the packaging or on the product itself. The general public are informed that these products must not be disposed of with other household waste, but they are to be stored separately in a special KCA container, an ecobox. These wastes are collected separately on a regular basis by the municipality, and stored in one of more than 450 municipal depots. This is an example of a co-mingled collection system. The municipalities themselves are responsible for the adequate functioning and the costs of this part of the process. 

Individual countries within the European Community handle the battery waste problem differently. For example, in Switzerland all used consumer batteries are considered hazardous waste and must be collected separately from ordinary household waste. Batteries must be recycled or stored in warehouses, not landfilled. A tax is collected on all new battery purchases to help defray the cost of recycling. In Italy, spent dry batteries are considered as hazardous waste and must be collected separately. In Sweden (10), the environmental issues relatii to waste batteries are addressed in the Control of Chemicals Bill and in the Decree on Environmentally Hazardous Batteries. All used batteries containing cadmium or mercury are collected separately under government control. The cadmium is then recycled. Regulations are in place for the manufacture of nickel/cadmium cells, limiting the exposure of workers and the emission of toxic materials. 

Another aspect of voluntary agreements is the voluntary action undertaken by individuals, typically in the recychng of household waste. Voluntary actions by individuals are also more successful in solving significant environmental problems when they are backed up by a cost implication. The recent introduction of a pilot program in the Repubhc of Ireland that involves householders paying for the dis-... 

Belgium Packaging waste 50% of packaging waste by 2001 Cost-plus system collection of household waste financed by a fee. 

The hazardous components of MSW, ie, household chemicals, oily wastes, and lead and other metals in batteries, can leach from landfills and contaminate both surface water and groundwater or enter the atmosphere. Increased regulation to improve landfill integrity has led to impermeable liners and drainage and water quality monitoring systems. As a result, in many urban areas, land is either no longer readily available for new landfills or is available only at high cost. 

The purpose of this Report is to set forth the technical principles and framework for a comprehensive and risk-based hazardous waste classification system. In this context, waste is any material that has insufficient value to justify further beneficial uses, and thus must be managed at a cost. Hazardous waste is waste that can be harmful to biological organisms, due to the presence of radioactive substances or chemicals that are deemed hazardous, to the extent that it must be regulated. Hazardous waste excludes material that is simply useless (e.g., typical household trash). This work is comprehensive because it considers all hazardous wastes irrespective of their source.1... 

Due to the increasing cost of energy, the need to preserve the environment, and the non-existence or exhaustion of suitable natural raw materials in some areas, industrial and other waste materials are of interest as possible raw materials or supplementary fuels or both. Energy can be saved if even a part of the CaO can be provided by a material, such as blastfurnace slag, that does not require decarbonation. Supplementary fuels include such materials as used or reject tyres and pulverized household refuse, which can be introduced into the system in various ways. Some materials, such as pulverized fuel ash (pfa fly ash) can serve as raw materials that also possess some fuel content. Other wastes that have been used include calcium silicate residues from aluminium extraction, mining residues, and precipitated calcium carbonate from various industries. 

Some communities require individual households to separate glass, plastic, and paper, while other programs have installed systems to separate the items at a plant and then sell them to manufacturers. The special collection of hazardous chemical wastes has also been initiated in communities that either recycle them or dispose of them more safely than in a landfill. Several things, besides saving space in landfills, are then accomplished with recycling programs. One is a cost benefit to the municipality and another is a decrease in the exploitation of natural resources, such as trees, metals, and petroleum. 

Wastes edible oil, originated from restaurants and household disposals, is creating serious problems of environmental control and food safety. Production of biodiesel with waste edible oil as feedstock not only could reduce disposal problems, but, more importantly, would decrease the cost of biodiesel. 

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