CONCLUSION

As conclusion,

RECOMMENDATION

For a reduction of environmental problems that occur because of discharge of waste,

improved housekeeping practises. Good house-keeping practices are not easy to
describe, but it is clear that, as the amount of water used is major factor in all
industries (if more water is used, total wastewater production per unit of product
processed may increase manifold) proper water management is one of the first
aspects deserving attention. A reduction of water consumption without decreasing
hygienic standards, is often possible. This reduction may be reached by good-house
keeping practices, but also by the introduction of new technics such as dry cleaning
prior to washing.

Furthermore, environmental problems may also be reduced by converting as much

waste as possible into a solid product instead of washing the waste away into the
wastewater. In general solid waste is fairly easy to control, requires less energy and
is cheaper than wastewater treatment.

For tanneries, it is of prime importance to prevent chromium from polluting

wastewater. Precipitation of chromium is an easy process. Solid waste containing
chromium should be dumped in special dumping grounds where facilities should be
available to minimize the amount of percolation water. Precipitation also results in
large reductions of SS and BOD emissions.

In slaughterhouses, blood and paunch contribute enormously to the wastewater load.

These and other solid by-products should be prevented being washed away. By-
products can be used for several purposes and unusable solid waste can be easily
handled properly, e.g. via composting. This process and more sophisticated
processes for by-product handling may even result in valuable products.
Given the high BOD-load in the wastewater of tanneries, dairies and
slaughterhouses, anaerobic systems would seem to be the most suitable wastewater
purification systems. Simple anaerobic systems reach 50% BOD-purification, while
high-rate anaerobic systems may achieve a 90% BOD-purification rate.

In a few developed countries, environmental problems have led to the formulation of

high quality standards for discharged water. To meet these standards, a combination
of anaerobic and aerobic is required, often coupled to nutrient removal systems.

As most of the air pollution is related to fossil energy consumption, prevention as a

method to reduce environmental pollution is even more important than it is for
wastewater. For some components (e.g. VOC, dust) methods exist for the treatment
of polluted air, however frequently at high costs.

It was recommended that SWMA continue using the Caja del Rio landfill rather than
transporting the trash to a cheaper landfill such as the one in Bernalillo County. The
primary reason is that the transportation costs would far outweigh the cheaper
dumping costs. In addition, the consultants felt that $40/ton for disposal is an
appropriate fee to charge. They also recommended that the landfill accept trash from
neighboring counties when those counties have an emergency need for disposal.
Another important recommendation was that SWMA contract with a third party to
transport recyclable materials to another Material Recovery Facility (MRF), rather
than continuing to process them at the BuRRT facility in Santa Fe. There is a MRF in
Albuquerque that accepts more kinds of recyclables than can be processed at
BuRRT, so if our recyclables were taken to that facility, the residents of Santa Fe City
and County would be able to recycle all plastics as well as cereal boxes — items that
are not currently accepted. In addition, this recommendation will have the effect of
saving significant amounts of money in the operation of BuRRT. Another interesting
recommendation is that SWMA contract with a third party to do the green-waste
grinding and to start a composting operation to include food scraps. The grinding of
green waste as been a real headache for SWMA over the years due to the fact that it
is extremely difficult to keep grinders in good working order. So the consultants felt
that it would be an advantage to let it be taken over by a private entity expert at that
type of operation. In addition, it would be a major advantage to the community to
have a professional composting operation so that more of the food scraps produced
in our area be diverted from the landfill and used for something that would be
beneficial. It is interesting to note that a significant percentage by weight of what
currently goes into the landfill is food scraps that decompose to produce methane.
The final recommendation that I would like to highlight is regarding public outreach.
The consultants felt that SWMA should take the lead in the development of solid
waste and recycling messaging. People who live in the City and those who live in the
unincorporated County areas would then get a consistent message about what can
be recycled, as well as about the other services that SWMA provides.