Solid Waste Management
575.420
Course Description
This course covers advanced engineering and scientific concepts and principles
applied to the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) to protect human health
and the environment and the conservation of limited resources through resource
recovery and recycling of waste material. Topics include regulatory aspects and
hierarchy of integrated solid waste management; characterization and properties
of MSW; municipal wastewater sludge utilization; hazardous waste found in MSW;
collection, transfer, and transport of solid waste; separation, processing,
combustion, composting, and recycling of waste material; the landfill method of
solid waste disposal which encompasses guidelines for design, construction,
operation, siting, monitoring, remedial actions, and closure of landfills.
Permitting and public participation processes, current issues, and innovative
approaches are also addressed.
Syllabus
- Introduction; Definition of Solid Waste; Waste Generation; Evolution of Solid Waste
Management; Functional Elements of a Waste Management System; Hierarchy of Integrated
Solid Waste Management Systems.
- Regulatory Aspects; Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), Annotated Code of Maryland
(Environment Article); Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); Major Legislation; Governmental
Agencies.
- Sources, Types, Composition, and Properties of Solid Waste; Determination of the
Composition of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the Field; Types of Materials Recovered from
MSW; Future Changes in Waste Composition.
- Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties of Municipal Solid Waste; Physical,
Chemical, and Biological Transformations of Solid Waste.
- Hazardous Wastes Found in Municipal Solid Waste; Properties and Classification of
Hazardous Waste; Sources, Types, Quantity and significance of Hazardous Wastes in MSW;
Physical, Chemical, and Biological Transformations of Hazardous Waste Constituents Found
in MSW; Management of Hazardous Wastes in MSW.
- Transformation of Solid Waste; Aerobic Composting; Waste Transformation through
Combustion; Impact of Source Reduction and Waste Recycling on Waste Transformation
Processes; Selection of Proper Mix of Technologies.
- Mid-Term. Recycling of Materials Found in Municipal Solid Waste; Key Issues in Materials
Recycling; Aluminum Cans, Paper and Cardboard, Plastics, Glass, Ferrous Metal, Nonferrous
Metals, Yard Wastes Collected Separately, Organic Fraction of MSW, Construction.
- Landfill Method of Solid Waste Disposal; Landfill Classification, Types, Methods and
Siting Considerations; Layout and Preliminary Design of Landfills.
- Composition and Characteristics, Generation, Movement, and Control of Landfill Leachate
and Gases; Surface Water Management; Structural and Settlement Characteristics;
Environmental Quality Monitoring; Design and Installation of Groundwater Monitoring Well.
- Landfill Closure and Post-closure Care; Environmental Monitoring Systems, Routine
Inspections and Infrastructure Maintenance, Liability and Financing of Post-closure
Maintenance, Types of Acceptable Financial Assurances.
- Remedial Actions at Closed, Inactive, or Abandoned Waste Disposal Sites; Site
Identification, Environmental Testing, Preliminary Assessment, Site Inspection, Hazardous
Ranking Analysis and NPL, Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, Remedy Selection,
Remedial Design, and Other Elements of CERCLA/Superfund Response Process.
- Municipal Wastewater Biosolids; Definition, Quantity, Constituents and Characteristics
of Sewage Sludge; Control of Pathogens; Land Application of Sludge; Comparison of Sewage
Sludge and Commercial Fertilizers; Composting, Landfilling, and Incineration of
Sludge and Evaluation of Disposal Alternatives; Case Study.
- Separation and Processing of Solid Waste; Reuse and Recycling Opportunities for Waste
Materials; Materials Recovered at Drop-off and Buy-back Centers; Options for the
Separation of Waste Materials; Introduction to the Unit Operations Used for the Separation
and Processing of Waste Materials; Facilities for Handling, Moving, and Storing Waste
Materials; Development and Implementation of MRFs.
- Final Exam
Instructor
Hedy V. Alavi, Ph.D., P.E., DEE
Textbook
Integrated Solid Waste Management, Engineering Principles and Management Issues by
George Tchobanoglous, Hilary Theisen and Samuel Vigil, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1993.
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Courses | Environmental Engineering
and Science | Part-Time Engineering
Fall 1998