18-Env-A6 Solid Waste Engineering and Management · December 2014
Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
Reference texts: Tchobanoglous, Theisen & Vigil, Integrated Solid Waste Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues; Vesilind, Worrell & Reinhart, Solid Waste Engineering; Davis & Cornwell, Introduction to Environmental Engineering (6th ed.); CCME, Guidance Document on Landfill Gas Management; Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
This paper prints marks IN FRONT of the question number on every line (e.g. "5 1. What are the elements…", "4 16. All 29 questions are answered in full.
Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.
A solid waste management system is conventionally described by six functional elements, each with its own equipment, labour and cost structure, that together move waste from the point of generation to final disposition: (1) waste generation — the point at which materials are identified as no longer useful and either discarded or gathered for collection; (2) onsite handling, storage and processing — activities at the point of generation prior to collection (bagging, bins/carts, on-site compaction); (3) collection — gathering waste and recyclable materials and transporting them to the location where the collection vehicle is emptied; (4) transfer and transport — moving waste from a smaller collection vehicle into a larger transport vehicle at a transfer station for the longer haul to a processing or disposal site; (5) processing and recovery — separation, processing and transformation of materials for recycling, composting or energy recovery; and (6) disposal — final placement of waste that cannot be further processed or recovered, typically in an engineered sanitary landfill.
