MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 1 UNIT II STUDY GUIDE Solid Waste Characteristics, Quantities, and Collection Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 1. Identify municipal solid waste and its characteristics. 2. Identify the composition of different types of solid waste. 3. Explain the heat values of refuse and how they are expressed. 4. Analyze the different methods of solid waste collection. 5. Describe truck routing and the use of transfer stations. 6. Analyze litter collection methods and where they are more beneficial. Unit Lesson Unit II consists of Chapters 2 and 3 - Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics and Quantities and Collection. This unit involves concepts as well as numerical computations. This lecture will focus on computations. Chapter 2 Example 2-1 introduces you to different types of household waste that are produced. The example computes what percentage of waste can be diverted from the landfill as well as the percentage of recyclables as a fraction of the landfilled materials. Example 2-2 computes the moisture content of a residential waste. The values for moisture, such as "6" for paper is 6% moisture obtained from Table 2-1. "w" is wet weight and "d" is dry weight. Example 2-3; A calorimeter is a method for determining the heat of combustion. The example shows that the original refuse sample produces 4000 Btu/lb when burned. If moisture is removed from the sample before burning, then the sample can produce 4444 Btu/lb when burned. Further, if neither ash production nor moisture is included in energy production, then 5714 Btu/lb of heat are available. Examples 2-4 and 2-5 explain the computation of statistical means. You should practice working the problems at the end of the chapter. Answers to select questions are provided below. Problem 2-1: Landfill will fill in 30 days Problem 2-3: 2.8 lb/in2 Problem 2-13: Density of loose refuse is 206 lb/yd3 Volume occupied by 100 lb of loose refuse is 0.49 yd3 Density of baled refuse is 767 lb/yd3 Volume occupied by 100 lb of baled refuse is 0.13 yd3 Problem 2-14: 21.6% water Problem 2-17: 5270 Btu/lb Problem 2-18: 4890 Btu/lb Problem 2-19: 10 ft-lb Reading Assignment Chapter 2: Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics and Quantities Chapter 3: Collection MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 2 Chapter 3 Example 3-1 shows the value of compacting refuse to reduce the volume of garbage set out for collection. Examples 3-2 and 3-3 show calculations for how many customers can be served before filling a garbage truck. Examples 3-4 and 3-5 explain how to compute the number of collection vehicles required. Page 85 presents equations for how much time is required to walk down a street to collect recyclables. At the top of page 85, note that the distance between stops "A" is in meters (not feet). A ...

1. MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 1
UNIT II STUDY GUIDE
Solid Waste Characteristics,
Quantities, and Collection
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit II
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Identify municipal solid waste and its characteristics.
2. Identify the composition of different types of solid waste.
3. Explain the heat values of refuse and how they are expressed.
4. Analyze the different methods of solid waste collection.
5. Describe truck routing and the use of transfer stations.
6. Analyze litter collection methods and where they are more
beneficial.
Unit Lesson
Unit II consists of Chapters 2 and 3 - Municipal Solid Waste
Characteristics and
Quantities and Collection. This unit involves concepts as well
as numerical
computations. This lecture will focus on computations.

2. Chapter 2
Example 2-1 introduces you to different types of household
waste that are
produced. The example computes what percentage of waste can
be diverted
from the landfill as well as the percentage of recyclables as a
fraction of the
landfilled materials.
Example 2-2 computes the moisture content of a residential
waste. The values
for moisture, such as "6" for paper is 6% moisture obtained
from Table 2-1.
"w" is wet weight and "d" is dry weight.
Example 2-3; A calorimeter is a method for determining the
heat of combustion.
The example shows that the original refuse sample produces
4000 Btu/lb when
burned. If moisture is removed from the sample before burning,
then the sample
can produce 4444 Btu/lb when burned. Further, if neither ash
production nor
moisture is included in energy production, then 5714 Btu/lb of
heat are available.
Examples 2-4 and 2-5 explain the computation of statistical
means.
You should practice working the problems at the end of the
chapter. Answers to
select questions are provided below.
Problem 2-1: Landfill will fill in 30 days

3. Problem 2-3: 2.8 lb/in2
Problem 2-13: Density of loose refuse is 206 lb/yd3
Volume occupied by 100 lb of loose refuse is 0.49 yd3
Density of baled refuse is 767 lb/yd3
Volume occupied by 100 lb of baled refuse is 0.13 yd3
Problem 2-14: 21.6% water
Problem 2-17: 5270 Btu/lb
Problem 2-18: 4890 Btu/lb
Problem 2-19: 10 ft-lb
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 2:
Municipal Solid Waste
Characteristics and
Quantities
Chapter 3:
Collection
MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 2

4. Chapter 3
Example 3-1 shows the value of compacting refuse to reduce the
volume of
garbage set out for collection.
Examples 3-2 and 3-3 show calculations for how many
customers can be served
before filling a garbage truck.
Examples 3-4 and 3-5 explain how to compute the number of
collection vehicles
required.
Page 85 presents equations for how much time is required to
walk down a street
to collect recyclables. At the top of page 85, note that the
distance between
stops "A" is in meters (not feet). A stop is where the worker
stops to pick up a
container of recyclables.
Examples 3-6 and 3-7 describe litter surveys which show the
demographic that
is more likely to litter. Do you think someone is more likely to
litter if they are
18 and younger or 19 and over?
Please work a few of the problems at the end of the chapter.
Here are some
answers.

5. Problem 3-5: 38 minutes one-way haul time
Problem 3-7: Both people walk both sides; they don't split up.
Thus, total time per side = 29.5 minutes, or 59 minutes total.
Problem 3-22: 1. 18 or younger than
2. No trash cans, then
3. Area already littered
Many of the other problems require multiple assumptions, so,
multiple valid
answers are possible.
MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 1
UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Integrated Solid Waste
Management
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

6. 1. Identify and discuss recycling obstacles and solutions.
2. Identify the continuous goals of solid waste management
reduction.
3. Summarize the options for reducing the generation of waste
materials.
4. Assess some of the obstacles identified with recycling.
5. Explain energy conversion in solid waste management.
Unit Lesson
From a historical perspective we can see that humans are
constantly making
decisions on what to use and what to throw away. The
production of waste is
ultimately a consequence of everyday life. Around 10,000 BC,
humans changed
their lifestyles to living closer together as opposed to further
apart. This led to the
beginning of waste, which piled up and became a huge problem.
Throughout the
years, waste management was uncoordinated and disorganized.
There were no
state solid waste programs, little federal presence, no solid
waste service
companies, and salvage and reclamation were limited to
industries
(Hickman, 2000).
The emergence of the industrial age fostered the science of
economics and
prompted many leading thinkers to attempt to bring rational
order to the
seemingly chaotic world around them (Worrell & Vesilind,
2012). Throughout the
1700s and into the 1800s, concepts were developed by

7. comparing the growing
human population to its economic consequences. Adam Smith
(1723-1790)
introduced the idea of faith and positivism in that the growing
human population
could positively change their own behaviors to benefit
themselves. Thomas
Malthus (1766-1834) reasoned that the growth of the human
population would
affect food resources which would, in turn, lead to famine
among humans. The
scarcity of land became noticeable however when, later on, the
growth of the
human population generated even more waste. People noticed
and began to
create alternatives to handle the growing waste management
problem.
Reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery became the feasible
options for
lowering waste generation. Legislation formed different laws to
address the
growing issue of solid waste management. On April 26, 1999,
the Landfill
Directive was put into effect and made it a law that municipal
waste must be
treated prior to being landfilled. Goals were established along
with the improved
use of landfills to include prevention, preparation for recycling,
and energy
recovery.
Since waste reduction is essentially pollution prevention, the
idea has caused
different cities to form reuse and recycling efforts. Clothing is
passed down from

8. person to person, paper and plastic bags are reused, and empty
coffee cans are
used for storage. Recycling efforts are also set up and coded so
that people can
drop off their recyclables (plastic, paper, etc.) and the city will
separate and haul
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 1:
Integrated Solid Waste
Management
Suggested Reading
Environmental Protection
Agency
www.epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/
MEE 5901, Advanced Solid Waste Management 2
them away. The disposal of solid waste that isn’t necessarily
recyclable goes to
landfills. Obstacles that people have come up against though in
this method

9. include rodents, odor, pollution, and insects. These are being
addressed
accordingly through energy combustion, compacting, and
improving the design
of the landfills. Liners are now used in the development of
sanitary landfills to
stop the leakage of contaminated ground water into the soil.
Through the development of methods to treat solid waste
management, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized that all
of the methods
developed to this point are interchangeable. Recognizing this,
the EPA has
created the Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM)
strategy in which they
combine strategies listed from the most to the least desirable:
1. reducing the quantity of waste generated,
2. reusing the materials,
3. recycling and recovering materials,
4. combusting energy for recovery, and
5. landfilling.
Overall, communities must consider all of these strategies and
integrate the one
that works best for them. If one strategy does not work, they
must divert to an
alternative strategy for safely dealing with solid waste
management.
Reference

10. Worrell, W. A. & Vesilind, P. A. (2012). Solid waste
engineering
(2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: CL-Engineering.
1. Solid Waste in History: Economics and Legislation:
a. Outline how the management of municipal waste has changed
over the years. Compare and contrast historical solid waste
management efforts with current solid waste management
efforts.
b. What led to the development of sanitary landfills? How do
sanitary landfills differ from open dumps? Describe how a
sanitary landfill is created. How does this type of landfill
construction help prevent groundwater contamination, and is it
always successful?
2. Energy Conversion and Integrated Solid Waste Management:
a. What is the potential for energy recovery from solid waste?
Outline how refuse can be burned and describe the results of
refuse combustion.
b. Describe an integrated solid waste management plan for
reducing waste at its source. How have these strategies
contributed to the growth in recycling/recovery during the last
20 years?
3. Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling:
a. Identify how waste reduction can be achieved. What
incentives are there for the public to change its use of
materials?
b. What are some examples of waste reduction that you can
utilize in your everyday life? What are the benefits of recycling
and what are the negative issues apparent with recycling?
Identify and explain some obstacles with recycling.

11. 4. Litter Collection: You are a consultant in a community of
around 4,000 people. The city council has asked you to create
an anti-litter campaign to assist the clean-up of their
community. Since you believe that litter can be controlled by
cognitive, social, and technological means, outline the different
steps you would take in evaluating the community, why there is
litter, and what you can do to assist in building the anti-litter
campaign for the city council. How would your means be
effective?
5. Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics: Define the term
moisture transfer and outline how it is used in refuse
management. Explain why moisture transfer is important in
studies on refuse composition and materials recovery. How is it
also important in energy conversion?
My response should be at least 200 words in length. APA
Format, References