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

Question 19 of 22: Eliminating Small Quantities of Hazardous Waste from MSW

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

Notes on this paper

National Examination, May 2014 — 04-Env-A6 / 18-Env-A6, Solid Waste Engineering and Management. 3 hours duration, closed book, no calculator, one letter-sized aid sheet permitted. All 22 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.

Question 19: Eliminating Small Quantities of Hazardous Waste from MSW (2 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.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection programs — permanent drop-off depots and/or periodic collection events (and, increasingly, retailer take-back programs for specific items such as batteries and paint) — intercept hazardous items such as batteries, paints, solvents and pesticides at the source, before they ever enter the regular municipal solid waste stream, combined with public education so residents know what qualifies as hazardous and where to take it. This source-separation approach is far more effective than any downstream sorting effort, since once a hazardous item is co-mingled with the general refuse stream it is difficult and costly to identify and remove, and it may already have contaminated a load of otherwise-recyclable or compostable material or exposed collection/processing workers to a chemical or physical hazard.