Advanced Waste Management

The Environmental Protect Agency and other federal and state agencies have over twenty-year experience managing the environmental reclamation and site remediation activities at mine and industrial sites. Since this time they have developed, tested and deployed multiple cleanup technologies that have proven successful in the cleaning up of polluted mine and processing sites.

As cleanups continue at different mine sites, the EPA and environmental engineers are continuing to develop additional technologies that are more efficient and effective at cleaning up hazardous locations.

It is important the environmental engineer and the environmental cleanup company have a deep understanding of the technique and type of environmental remediation being used. Some methods are effective at a small scale but will fail when implemented over a large area. While other methods are not effective at all for the type of pollution being cleaned up.

Top Conventional Environmental Remediation Techniques and Soil Treatment Methods

Conventional technologies have been used the longest by environmental engineers and environmental cleanup contractors to perform remediation at mine sites. These technologies have been used on small scale and wide-scale reclamation projects to treat soil pollution across the United States.

Chemical Treatment

With this type of treatment, remedial systems are developed that introduce reagents into the soil or groundwater and modify the organic and inorganic contaminants and convert the pollution into environmentally less damaging forms. One of the most common and widely accepted forms of chemical treatment at mine sites is the use of lime to neutralize acid rock drainage.

Stabilization

Stabilization is changing the contaminants to a less mobile or soluble form thereby making it less hazardous to the environment. For example, stabilization could be used to treat soil pollution found in a sludge slurry by changing the pH of the sludge to make it less mobile. Another form often used for stabilization is the capping of soil pollution. In this case, a clean cap of soil is placed over the polluted soil to protect it from running into streams and rivers.

Solidification

This process involves making the pollution solid, such as capping or mixing the pollution into a concrete block. The contaminant migration is restricted vastly by decreasing the surface area exposed to leaching or runoff from rain and stormwater.

Decontamination of Buildings

Often when a mine site has finished operations, historical preservation is requested of the buildings. When this occurs, the structures themselves will need to be decontaminated. Decontamination could be as simple as washing the building or as complicated as removing asbestos from the interior walls and ceilings.

Landfill Disposal

Landfill disposal of soil pollution is one of the most common methods of disposal and is an example of encapsulation site remediation. Landfills are designed to accept waste for permanent disposal. Landfills used for site remediation and polluted soil are often designed to be lined to protect against leachate and have specially designed caps to project against stormwater and erosion. Using a landfill for disposal of mine waste can be significant as the site must be maintained and protected for as long as there is an environmental risk.

Environmental Remediation Companies

According to Manta, there are over 3,300 environmental remediation companies located in the United States. One of the main reasons for there being so many companies is site remediation requires a significant amount of local knowledge. The environmental engineer must have an in-depth understanding of the local environmental reclamation requirements, a history of the site, and relationships with federal and local contractors. With this in mind, it is usually better to work with a small environmental engineering business rather Regardless of how new a city is; it must have an acceptable waste disposal system. A poor garbage management procedure will invariably cause a great many problems for residents and city administrators alike, so it is no surprise that waste management is a hot topic in a modern society like Australia.

With more and more industrial and commercial waste being produced from packaging materials, toxic elements and household usage, managing this garbage is becoming a big headache for administrators. Reuse and recycling is high on the agenda across the country, from local councils to state governments. Every country has varying systems for proper waste management; some make use of private companies, but for many, it’s up to the local administrators to put those systems into place.

Here are some well consider and future-proof systems which could be adopted in Australia.

Moving Away from Traditional Waste Management

Many modern countries are taking steps to get rid of the traditional systems that managed waste. In the past landfill sites were used to bury household, commercial and industrial waste. This is not a sustainable practice, however, because of a lack of space surrounding most of cities, not to mention the need to tear up the countryside to bury rubbish. One alternative to traditional waste management is Waste Categorization.

For years, waste was bundled together and buried in landfill sites without a second thought. But, over the time people started to realise that burying toxic waste, harmful chemicals, and other noxious substances in the ground causes leaks into the environment and poses a threat to public health and safety.

These days, waste is sorted into individual groupings based on their level of toxicity and danger to the environment and public health. Many local councils have handed out recycling boxes which people use to sort their own rubbish.

Different waste groups include:

Liquid - cleaning products, wastewater, detergents and other materials which turn into liquid waste.

Solid - regular household waste, garbage and other solid wastes.

Hazardous - chemicals, flammables, combustibles and other poisonous or toxic materials.

Organic - food waste, grass clippings and other organic materials.

Recyclable - plastics, paper, cardboard & magazines etc.

Adopting "Zero Waste" Concepts

Zero waste management is a philosophy of recycling and reusing products. The idea is simple; send no trash to landfills or incinerators. To understand Zero waste, it helps to consider nature; in nature, nothing is considered as waste and everything is recycled in the ecosystem.

Practically, achieving zero waste might seem impossible. However, cities like San Francisco and New York are on the verge of accomplishing it. Not so long ago, New York city had a landfill so big that it was said to be visible from space. Even if this is an exaggeration, you can begin to guess just how large it was. Still, with proper planning and precise execution, New York is nearing their goal of achieving zero waste.

On the other hand, Sweden is one step ahead. They burn almost 2 million tons of trash every year, which is converted in their impressive waste-to-energy plants. This drastically reduces landfill waste; in fact, other countries even pay Sweden to take their waste and make use of it in their waste-to-energy system. Sweden actually makes a profit from taking other countries’ garbage!

Thinking Outside the Box

Taiwan’s waste management system makes use of one particularly special technique; their garbage trucks have a sound system attached! Their trucks play classical music, from Beethoven or Mozart, while roaming around the city. Whenever citizens hear the beautiful sound of a Beethoven symphony, right away they know it’s the time to take out their garbage.

Let The Professionals Handle Your Waste

Professional waste management companies provide comprehensive services to take your waste - from domestic to commercial and industrial - and will sort your recyclable materials, solids, liquids and organic foods for you. This process is made easier when people recycle their waste correctly themselves. Many waste management services offer specific collections of materials as part of their rounds. If you’re living in large like Melbourne, you can make use of a skip bin company to speed up the process.

These professional waste collectors can also assist you in sorting the recyclable materials from hazardous waste. Items such as computers, televisions and electronic equipment contain many different parts which need to be disposed of differently. This sorting is an exhausting, and often costly, process due to the labor involved. Special sorting machines exist to aid in the sorting process.

It’s clear that keeping tabs on a city’s recycling level is a strenuous task for the local authorities alone, but with the involvement of its citizens and the additional help of professional waste management services such as Metro Bin Hire, this task can be made significantly easier. It not only provides a boost to the economy in terms of efficiency, productivity but also provides a cleaner environment for all.