Waste Management

• By: AWMA
• On: 03/03/2023 14:51:05
• In: EM Articles
• Comments: 0

Each year, we aim to dedicate at least one full issue to topics related to waste management. This waste-themed issue of EM offers readers four articles that provide insight into important, recent developments in waste prevention and management. The first article, by Neal Bolton, considers worker safety at waste and recycling facilities, which according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2021 was the 7th most deadly industry, with a fatality rate of 27.9 fatalities per 100,000 workers. In this article, the author examines the various ways to create an effective worker safety program.

Next, authors Bob Rella and Jeff Murray outline the circumstances and decisions that led to the conversion of a local waste transport system from rail haul to truck haul. The conversion is estimated to create significant annual savings for the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority.

The following two articles switch the focus to landfills. First, Russell Anderson provides some background on how landfill methane emission inventories are estimated, as well as the methodologies typically utilized to measure landfill methane emissions, including some of the evolving remote monitoring technologies currently being deployed. This is followed by an article that looks at recent regulation changes that could require a more complete reduction of PFAS from landfills. Authors Lingke Zeng, Stephen Zemba, and Sarah Pope note that the chain length of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can greatly affect the treatment efficiency. Therefore, when selecting the treatment technology for landfill leachate, one should understand applicable regulations, leachate water chemistry, and PFAS characterization.

Continue reading the full March 2023 issue of EM.