cording to industry records, over 12 million computers a year. These computers, weighing
an estimated 600 million pounds (272 million kg) contribute toxic waste to landfills. Bet-
ter that these computers be contributed to schools, colleges, and universities where they
can be put to use in student training. Such computers may be slower and less modern than
today's models, but their value in training programs has little to do with their speed or
software. Instead, they will enable students to learn, at minimal cost to the school, the
fundamentals of computer use in their personal and business lives.
Recycling waste products has further benefits for municipalities. The U.S. Clean Air
Act's Title V consolidates all existing air pollution regulations into one massive operating
permit program. Landfills that burn, pollute the atmosphere. And most of the waste we're
considering in this procedure burns when deposited in a landfill. By recycling this waste
the hazardous air pollutants they may have produced while burning in a landfill are elimi-
nated from the atmosphere. This results in one less worry and problem for the municipal-
ity and its officials. In a recent year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took 2247
enforcement actions and levied some $165-million in civil penalties and criminal fines
against violators.
Any recycling situation can be reduced to numbers because you basically have the
cost of collection balanced against the revenue generated by sale of the waste. Beyond
this are nonfinancial considerations related to landfill availability and expected life-span.
If waste has to be carted to another location for disposal, the cost of carting can be fac-
tored into the economic study of recycling.
Municipalities using waste collection programs state that their streets and sidewalks
are cleaner. They attribute the increased cleanliness to the organization of people's think-
ing by the waste collection program. While stiff fines may have to be imposed on non-
complying individuals, most cities report a high level of compliance from the first day of
the program. The concept of the "green city" is catching on and people are willing to sep-
arate their trash and insert it in specific containers to comply with the law.
"Green products, i.e., those that produce less pollution, are also strongly favored by
the general population of the United States today. Manufacturing companies are finding a
greater sales acceptance for their "green" products. Even automobile manufacturers are
stating the percentage of each which is recyclable, appealing to the "green" thinking per-
meating the population.
Recent studies show that every ton of paper not landfilled saves 3 yd
3
(2.3 m
3
) of land-
fill space. Further, it takes 95 percent less energy to manufacture new products from recy-
cled materials. Both these findings are strong motivators for recycling of waste materials
by all municipalities and industrial firms.
Decorative holiday trees are being recycled by many communities. The trees are
chipped into mulch which are given to residents and used by the community in parks,
recreation areas, hiking trails, and landfill cover. Seaside communities sometimes plant
discarded holiday trees on beaches to protect sand dunes from being carried away by the
sea.
CHOICE OF CLEANUP TECHNOLOGY
FOR CONTAMINATED WASTE SITES
A contaminated waste site contains polluted water, solid wastes, dangerous metals, and
organic contaminants. Evaluate the various treatment technologies available for such a
site and the relative cost of each. Estimate the landfill volume required if the rate of solid-
waste generation for the site is 1,500,000 Ib (681,818 kg) per year. What land area will be