1. Solid Waste in History: Economics and Legislation:
a. Outline how the management of municipal waste has changed over the years. Compare and contrast historical solid waste management efforts with current solid waste management efforts.
b. What led to the development of sanitary landfills? How do sanitary landfills differ from open dumps? Describe how a sanitary landfill is created. How does this type of landfill construction help prevent groundwater contamination, and is it always successful?
2. Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling:
a. Identify how waste reduction can be achieved. What incentives are there for the public to change its use of materials?
b. What are some examples of waste reduction that you can utilize in your everyday life? What are the benefits of recycling and what are the negative issues apparent with recycling? Identify and explain some obstacles with recycling.
3. Recovery and Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfills:
a. Explain how recovery supports recycling. How does the recovery system process solid waste that would otherwise have been sent to a landfill? Describe recovery operations in a mixed-waste materials recovery facility and what they involve.
b. How has the disposal of solid wastes in landfills led to the development of sanitary landfills? How has the issue of landfills contaminating groundwater (leachate) been addressed with the use of liners?
Worrell, W. A., & Vesilind, P. A. (2012). Solid waste engineering (2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.