Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering, Volume I and II

654 MANAGEMENT OF SOLID WASTE

TABLE 13

Solid waste management methods

Type Present usage Relative cost Items disposed of Principal benefits

Sanitary landfill Most used (80%)

decreasing^9

Lowb All except hazardous

materials

Low initial cost,

takes all items

may reclaim land

Central incineration Increasing

second largest

method (4%)

High All burnable except

special items and

over-sized items

Reduces volume,

clean product can

produce by-

product items

Open burning Illegal Low Construction

wastes, leaves,

agricultural waste

Compaction, high

pressure

Two plants in

operation

Medium-high All except

hazardous

materials

Produces dense,

essentially inert

blocks for fill

Composting Very few Medium-high Organic only.

No tires,

large pieces

Provides soil

conditioner

Garbage grinding Large number home

units

High Organic only Reduces domestic

collections

Dumping Not legal Lowest Non-putrescibles

Recycling Only for selected

materials and

areas, increasing

High Selected.

Depends

on process

Reduces quantity

for ultimate

disposal

a Many landfills are not sanitary but are included in this classification.

b Low under $10/ton; Medium $10 to $30/ton; High $30 
 ton.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7 8

9

10

12

11

13

1) — feed section

2) — feed chute

3) — grate

4) — furnace

5) — residue hopper

6) — secondary combustion chamber and

downpass flue volume

7) — final burning and settling chamber volume

8) — high-pressure opposed spray curtain

9) — fly-ash sluiceways

10) — sequential cyclone collectors

11) — induced-draft fan

12) — bypass flue

13) — provision for added filters or

precipitators

FIGURE 3 Large incinerator schematic.

beyond the scope of this work and the reader is referred to an

excellent work by Richard C. Corey.^22

Incineration in the past has received a bad reputation

because of poor control of gaseous effluents and sloppy han-

dling of solid and liquid effluents. With proper design and

operation an incinerator can meet or exceed requirements

on all effluent discharges. A modern central incinerator is

a more complex operation than a large commercial steam

boiler. It therefore requires skilled operating, maintenance

and supervisory personnel to ensure efficient operation.

At the present time control of particulate matter in the

effluent gas is the most critical problem in incinerator design

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