the United States
Figure 9.12 Solid waste flow diagram
Types of solid wastes include:
■ ORGANIC—kitchen wastes, vegetables, flowers, leaves, or fruits. Usually
decompose within 2 weeks. Wood can take 10 to 15 years to decompose.
■ RADIOACTIVE—spent fuel rods and smoke detectors. Radioactive wastes
can take hundreds of thousands of years to decompose.
■ RECYCLABLE—glass, metals, paper, and some plastics. Paper decomposes
in 10 to 30 days while glass does not decompose. Metals decompose in
100 to 500 years. Some plastics can take up to 1 million years to
decompose.
■ SOILED—hospital wastes. Cotton and cloth can take 2 to 5 months to
decompose.
■ TOXIC—paints, chemicals, pesticides, etc. These wastes can take hundreds
of years to decompose.
e-wastes
Electronic waste, commonly referred to as “e-waste,” includes discarded
computers; electronic home, office, and entertainment equipment; mobile
phones; television sets; appliances, and so on. These items are eventually