Chapter 19

Reclamation And Recycling Of Municipal Waste

A sludge dewatering process

Ifeanyi E. Madu
Dr. Ifeanyi Madu is an associate project manager with New York city department of
environmenta/ protection and an adjunct assistant professor ofmanagement science at Pace
University, New York.

Waste is a material that its producer does not want. Although the product may
have value to someone (either in its present or in a converted state), if its
producer does not ask for reimbursement for its removal, it is considered to be
waste, and at some stage, will enter a waste handling system, either private or
public

1. INTRODUCTION
Solid waste, within this context is defined to be the non-gaseous and non-
liquid wastes that result from the daily activities of a community's
residential, commercial, and industrial sectors [2].
In the United States, more than one hundred and fifty (l SO) million tons
of solid waste is generated every year. New York City, for example
generates about twenty-six (26) thousand tons of solid waste daily [3].
Disposal of Municipal waste is an issue of concem not only for Municipal
officials but also for the environmental conscious public. In the past, it was a
common practice for municipal wastes to be dumped in landfills where it is
periodically set on fire to reduce it's organic contents without any regards or
concems to the environment or the health of the public. However, in recent
years, due to rapidly dwindling landfill space, uncontrolled dumping of
refuse leading to rodent and insect breeding, deterioration of air quality from
open buming, deterioration of water quality from drainage through the
dump, the general ugliness, rising incineration costs, environmental
conscious public awareness, and govemment regulations, reclamation and
recycling has become increasingly more popular in most parts of North
C. N. Madu (ed.), Handbook of Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing
© Kluwer Academic Publishers 2001
440 Chapter 19

America and in Europe. A decade ago, the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) established a voluntary guidance program with a goal oftwenty five
(25) percent recycling of municipal solid waste.

1.1 Reclamation
Reclamation refers to the removal of salvageable items, such as metals
and paper, from other wastes to be reused or to serve as raw materials for
industry [4]. Industries are already making use of reclaimed waste materials
such as metals, paper, and textiles. In the United Kingdom for example, local
authorities reclaim about twenty (20) thousand tons ofwaste paper and about
thirty (30) thousand tons ofmetals annually [5].

1.2 Recycling
Recycling refers to the recovery and reuse of materials from spent
products. Recycling has become a major part of environmental policy,
largely due to increased costs of solid and hazardous waste disposal, the
scarcity of natural resources, and the growing concern over polluted land,
water, and air [3].
Recycling operations can either be internal or externat. Internal recycling
is the reuse of materials that are a waste product of the manufacturing
process. It is commonly used in the metals industry. External recycling on
the other hand is the reclaiming of materials from a product that has been
worn out or rendered obsolete, for example, the collection of old newspapers
and magazines for the manufacture ofnewsprint or other paper products [3].
Recycling greatly minimizes the land, water, and visual pollution that
results from dumping of refuse. However, for recycling programs to succeed,
the Federal government must invest greatly on both enhancing the markets
for recycled goods and expanding the number of items in the waste stream
that can be recycled [6]. The Federal government can ensure markets for
recycled products by mandating their use, as appropriate by federal agencies
and government contractors. The federal government should establish a
national clearinghouse on innovative and successful recycling programs to
which all municipalities have access [7].

2. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
In the 1990s, Municipalities and many Corporations have come to realize
the need to consider environmental impacts of their operations, and take
measures to control and reduce waste and pollution rather than wait for
government regulations. Quality driven businesses are learning that pollution