Hazardous Components of Household Waste

The Role of Mechanical and Biological Treatment in Reducing Methane Emissions from Landfill Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste in the United Kingdom

“…However, although sewage sludge and incineration ash produce low levels of methane emissions, the heavy metal content may result in unpredictable but high strength leachate. [12][13][14] Within the table, the range of methane production is Ͼ600 m 3 /hr, which means that the methane generation rate of different materials is notably different. This indicates that there is an opportunity to remove certain fractions that produce more methane under landfill conditions than the others.…”

Survey and analysis of public environmental awareness and performance in Ningbo, China: a case study on household electrical and electronic equipment

“…If they are disposed of together with household solid waste, by means of landfill or incineration, some heavy metals will remain in the environment for a long time and will damage the soil, groundwater, lakes, rivers, etc. The human body is seriously affected by bioaccumulation as the toxins gradually build up inside the body [3,4]. In recent years, the large amount of WEEE was one of the key environmental issues all over the world.…”

The management of household hazardous waste in the United Kingdom

“…As previous work has described, the HHW stream is generally poorly quantified due to a combination of poor definition (of component wastes) and through a perception that it is too small to be significant (Slack et al, 2004). However, upwards of 100,000 tonnes of HHW, not including the bulkiest component of HHW, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), can be expected to be disposed of each year in the UK (Burnley et al, 2007;Slack et al, 2004Slack et al, , 2005Slack et al, , 2007a. There is also evidence that HHW disposal to landfill sites contributes toxic substances to the landfill leachate that forms through a process of rainwater infiltration and decomposition of the waste body.…”

“…The UK-based National Household Hazardous Waste Forum (NHHWF) describes HHW as ''any material discarded by a household which is difficult to dispose of, or which puts human health or the environment at risk because of its chemical or biological nature'' (National Household Hazardous Waste Forum, 1999). As previous work has described, the HHW stream is generally poorly quantified due to a combination of poor definition (of component wastes) and through a perception that it is too small to be significant (Slack et al, 2004). However, upwards of 100,000 tonnes of HHW, not including the bulkiest component of HHW, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), can be expected to be disposed of each year in the UK (Burnley et al, 2007;Slack et al, 2004Slack et al, , 2005Slack et al, , 2007a.…”