Environmental Waste Management

Lesson Structure: Environmental Waste Management

There are 6 lessons:

1. Domestic Waste

Definitions
The Earths environment
Conservation and use of resources
Value of resources: economic, ecological and aesthetic
Damage being caused
Urbanisation
The impact of humans
Sewage and it's treatment
Characteristics of sewage
Components of sewage - solids, organic material, industrial waste
Decomposition of sewage
The nitrogen cycle
Classification of sewage systems
Storm water systems and management
Dry rubbish
Nature of refuse
Placement and protection of bins
Trade waste
Refuse collection systems
Refuse collection vehicles
Salvage materials
Safe disposal of household chemicals

2. Street Cleaning & Disposal Of Refuse

Types of street refuse
Methods of street cleaning - gritting, sanding, sweeping, washing, etc
Cleaning storm water pits
Managing snow
Refuse disposal-separation, controlled tipping, combustion, pulversisation, etc
Refuse for fertiliser
Methods of refuse Sorting - screening, magnetic, hand sorting
Types of incinerators
Vacuum systems for refuse collection - garchey system, gandillon
Harvesting energy from combustion

3. Industrial Waste

Types of industrial pollution
The greenhouse effect
Ozone depletion

4. Toxic and Nuclear Waste

Nuclear power
Nuclear fission
Mining nuclear fuel
Uranium enrichment
Gas diffusion
Gas centrifuge
Nuclear waste
Transporting nuclear waste
Reprocessing
Health risks of nuclear waste

5. Water Quality and Treatment

Industrial effluent
Pricing control compared with direct control
Types of water impurities
Scope of purification
Managing water for public supply
Water treatment methods
Purification methods - sedimentation, filtration, disinfection, aeration, screening, etc
Recycling sewage water
Recycling waste water
Reed bed treatment
Improving water quality from any source - physical, chemical, biological impurities
Water borne diseases

6. Recycling Waste

Scope and nature of recycling
Rubbish tips (dumps)
Recycling plastics
Recycling metals
Recycling glass
Recycling paper
Recycling rubber
Actions by individuals (at home or work) - reducing, reusing and recycling waste

Please Note: Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Learning Goals: Environmental Waste Management BEN202

Explain the nitrogen cycle and how it relates to waste treatment.
Determine the economic considerations of different waste disposal systems.
Compare industrial waste management with domestic waste management procedures.
Determine the principles of "polluter pays" legislation and how it is applied.
Describe how a budget is applied to managing a specific waste management enterprise.
Discuss issues in nuclear power and nuclear waste technology (including hospital waste).
Explain the cyclic nature of the water system and its relationship to environmental waste management.
Monitor and recommend improvements to a specified recycling enterprise.

Learn how waste is disposed of through natural processes and how to harness those processes to better manage waste disposal. The course covers such things as water quality and treatment, recycling, domestic and industrial waste and even the management of more toxic waste.