Chapter 14 - Reuse, Recycling, and Resource Recovery

This chapter focuses on the solid waste problem that must be addressed from the point of view of the source control, as well as disposal. Many reuse and recycling methods are still in the exploratory stage, but need development as the land for disposal grows scarcer and more expensive, and refuse continues to accumulate. Recycling is the collection of a product by the public and the return of this material to the industrial sector. While recovering, the waste is collected as mixed refuse, and then the materials are removed by various processing steps. Reuse of materials involves either the voluntary continued use of a product for a purpose for which it may not have been originally intended, or the extended use of the product. Size reduction or shredding is a brute force breaking of particles of refuse by swinging hammers in an enclosure. Two types of shredders are used in solid waste processing: the vertical and horizontal hammer mills. Screens separate material solely by size and do not identify the material by any other property. Ferrous material may be removed from refuse using magnets. Most municiple solid waste (MSW) contains sufficient organisms for successful composting, and the compost is an excellent soil conditioner.