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18-Env-A6 Solid Waste Engineering and Management · December 2014

Question 2 of 29: Integrated Solid Waste Management

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

Notes on this paper

National Examination, December 2014 — 04-Env-A6 / 18-Env-A6, Solid Waste Engineering and Management. 3 hours duration, closed book, one non-communicating calculator, one letter-sized aid sheet (both sides) permitted. All 29 questions constitute a complete paper (100 marks total).

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.

Note on source parsing

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 2: Integrated Solid Waste Management (4 marks)

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.

Integrated solid waste management (ISWM) is the selection and application of a complementary suite of waste management techniques — rather than reliance on any single method — matched to the specific waste streams, economics and objectives of a given community, and applied in the order that yields the greatest net environmental and economic benefit. Its components follow the widely-adopted waste management hierarchy: (1) source reduction — design, manufacture, purchase and use of materials to reduce the quantity and/or toxicity of waste generated; (2) recycling — separation, collection and reprocessing of materials that would otherwise be waste into new products; (3) composting/biological treatment — controlled biological decomposition of the organic fraction; (4) waste transformation (combustion/waste-to-energy) — recovery of energy or reduction of volume through thermal, chemical or additional biological processes; and (5) landfilling — engineered final disposal of the residual, non-recoverable fraction.