Recycling Overview

Ing. Fernando L. Rodríguez

President – SWANA Caribbean
 Waste Screening Objectives
• Know waste generator categories
• Define hazardous waste
• Recognize specific exemptions to the
definition of hazardous waste
• Define and describe other wastes that are
typically prohibited by state and federal
regulations
 Waste Screening
• Potential problems associated with hazardous or
unacceptable wastes
– Liability due to future releases of contaminants
– Worker injury
– Civil and criminal penalties
– Damage to environmental control and leachate
systems
– Soil and groundwater contamination
– Adverse reactions against facility from neighbors and
general public
 Waste Screening
• Hazardous wastes
• Exceptions to HW’s (EPA: 13 exceptions)
– House Hold Wastes (HHW) These types of wastes are
excluded from Hazardous
– Cement kiln dust waste definition of the EPA;
– Arsenic-Treated Wood this does not make them
automatically acceptable to
– Used Oil Filters a solid waste facility.

– Petroleum Contaminated Media

– Mining & Mineral Processing Wastes
 Importance of Waste Screening for
Disposal Facilities
• Prohibited wastes
– PCB’s
– Refrigerant-containing waste
– Blood-borne pathogen waste
– Radioactive wastes
– Asbestos & Lead-based Paint residues (Special
Wastes in PR)
– Others (batteries, liquids, ash, compressed gases,
used oil, fluorescent and high-intensity discharge,
septage, electronic waste, tires)
Integrated Solid Waste
Management Hierarchy
 Recycling
Recycling is the series of activities by
which discarded materials are
collected, sorted, marketed,
processed, and transformed or
manufactured into recyclable
materials, as well as the purchase
and use of recycled products.
 Other Key Definitions
Reuse is the use of a product more than once in the
same form for the same or different purpose without
substantial alteration.
Composting is the biological decomposition of organic
wastes under control conditions resulting in a material
that may serve as soil additive.
Actions taken to reduce solid waste toxicity or
generation by manufacturers and consumers is known
as source reduction.
 Recycling Loop
Traditional meaning:
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Alternate meaning:
Collecting, processing and manufacturing
products with recycled content, and
purchasing products containing
recycled material
 More on Recycling
Misinformation /
Benefits of Recycling
Misperceptions
• Preserves natural • We can recycle only a
resources small percentage of
• Conserves energy our solid waste
• Has positive economic • Recycling is more
impacts costly than disposal
• Reduces greenhouse • We have plenty of
gas emissions landfills – recycling
• Extends landfill life isn’t necessary
• People should get paid
to recycle
 Key Activities - Recycling
Separation

Collection

Processing

Manufacturing

Purchase of Manufactured Products

 Material Profiles
• RR: 48% • RR: 63% • RR: 29% (HDPE)
• Average aluminum cans • RR: 27% (PET)
contain 40% recycled
content

Aluminum Steel Cans Plastic Bottles

• RR: 71% • RR: 28% • RR: 99%

• 90% of recycled glass is
used to make new
containers

Office Paper Glass Car Batteries

• RR: 35%
*RR: Recycling Rate
Source: US EPA 2008

Tires
MSW Recycling Rates, 1960 to 2008

Source: US EPA - Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the
United States: Facts and Figures for 2008
Questions?
References:
•U.S. EPA, 2008
•SWANA Managing Recycling Systems Manual
•SWANA Waste Screening Manual
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