Institutional and industrial waste are classifications of refuse based on where they originate. Institutional waste is waste produced from institutions such as schools, hospitals, or prisons. These include waste not typically found in households but also hazardous wastes in some circumstances. Industrial waste is refuse produced by industries such as factories, foundries, or mills. These wastes include liquid, sludge, solid, and hazardous waste, but not domestic. Because both clarifications deal with hazardous waste, it is important for both institutions and industries to make sure this type of waste is handled appropriately and safely.

Both federal and state/provincial governments will institute policies – such as the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA) in the United States and the Canadian Environment Protection Act in Canada – to outline how institutions will handle and dispose of hazardous wastes properly. In the past, hazardous waste was just dumped into landfills with non-hazardous waste under the assumption that it was all the same. However, after years of dumping, it was discovered that this type of waste caused damage to not only the environment, but also to humans.

Incidents such as the one at Love Canal, New York, showed that poor management of hazardous waste could lead to birth defects and forms of cancer due to it not being disposed of in a way that would prevent it from being exposed to humans. Policies like the RCRA were introduced to ensure that hazardous waste is disposed in a safe manner.

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Sources

“Industrial Waste.” Defined Term. https://definedterm.com/industrial_waste. Accessed May 11, 2016.

“Institutional Waste.” Defined Term. https://definedterm.com/institutional_waste. Accessed May 11, 2016.

Stenzel, Paulette L. “Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.” Refference for Business. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Res-Sec/Resource-Conservation-and-Recovery-Act.html. Accessed May 6, 2016.

An Intermediate Processing Center (IPC) is a recycling center that is between the municipal collection program and the Municipal Recycling Center (MRC). Much like the MRC, the IPC separates recyclable refuse into different groupings based on their material so they can be resold to manufacturers for production.

The material is first brought to the IPC by collection trucks. In the separation process, paper is removed before the commingled materials (plastic, aluminum and glass) is sent by conveyor belt for further separation. Along the belt, a magnetic belt moving above pulls metal products away while plastics and glass are separated from below. The now separated materials are then sold or sent for use by factories for reuse in the manufacturing of goods.

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Other Sources

“Intermediate Processing Center (IPC).” http://www.ecologydictionary.org/QSUgS/PeeKX/EU-Bio-Glossary/Intermediate_Processing_Center_(IPC). Accessed May 27, 2016.

Forbes, Tench C. and John A. Mathews. “A Comparison of Intermediate Processing Center Reference Designs and Costs.” http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/nawtec/1992-National-Waste-Processing-Conference/1992-National-Waste-Processing-Conference-42.pdf. Accessed May 26, 2016.

Incineration serves in waste management as a way to treat waste through controlled burning. This treatment is often used in the production of electricity as it reduces the mass of waste up to 96 percent. It is popular among smaller countries like Japan, whose scarcity of land make incineration a convenient way to dispose of waste.

While incineration is a popular way to dispose of waste, the use of combustion also burns refuse items that could have been recycled or composted. Also, many of the waste items incinerated contain toxins such as mercury, dioxins, and furans, which produce carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide when burned.

The practice of burning refuse is something that can be traced as far back as the First Century AD, where communities like the Israeli city of Jerusalem and Mayan aboriginals in Central America burned much of their refuse often. The burning of rubbish on a larger scale and as a source of energy began in 1874 when the first “Destructor” incineration plant was built in the British city of Nottingham. While Destructors were capable of producing energy, they soon fell from favor for their toxic emissions, coating surrounding communities with ash. Despite the poor record of Destructors, the use of incineration has continued through the twentieth and twenty-first century with incinerators being better designed for treating waste.

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Other Sources

“For Education.” Began with the Bin. http://beginwiththebin.org/resources/for-education. Accessed July 20, 2016.

“Incineration.” Waste Management Resources. http://www.wrfound.org.uk/articles/incineration.html. Accessed August 9, 2016.

Suzuki, David and Ian Hanington. “Incinerating trash is a waste of resources.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2013/09/incinerating-trash-is-a-waste-of-resources/. Accessed August 9, 2016.

Injection wells first became widespread during the 1930s, where they were used to store brine that was created during oil production. In the 1950s, chemical companies began to use these wells to store hazardous industrial refuse. While injection wells have been used to dispose of pollutants in the Earth, they have also been used to store carbon dioxide, preventing more of this greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

Injection wells are used for the underground storage of fluids in porous geologic formations. In this method, a steel pipe of 5,000 feet or more is cemented into a drilled hole. After several tests, the fluid is injected into the well and repeated periodically. In the American state of California, 52,000 wells are used by the oil and gas industry.

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Other Sources

California Department of Conservation. “Oil, Gas & Geothermal – Injection Wells.” California Department of Conservation. http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog/general_information/Pages/class_injection_wells.aspx. Accessed August 9, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “General Information About Injection Wells.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/uic/general-information-about-injection-wells. Accessed August 9, 2016.

In-vessel Composting is a practice in disposing of organic refuse in large batches. Unlike conventional composting or methods like windrows, in-vessels take up less land, process organics faster, and can handle a much wider array of organics. Because of their versatility, this form of composting has become popular among large food processing plants.

In a specially designed container that can vary in size from small vessels to silos, an extensive variety of organics is stored for decomposition. During the process, the internal temperature, moisture, and aeration of the container have to be controlled to ensure that no leachate or odor is produced. While decomposition occurs at a faster rate than in conventional composting processes, the compost must be left for between a few weeks or months to allow microbes in the pile to settle and the pile to cool.

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Other Sources

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Types of Composting and Understanding the Process.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/types-composting-and-understanding-process. Accessed August 9, 2016.

Zero Waste Scotland. “What is in-vessel composting?” Zero Waste Scotland. http://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/content/what-vessel-composting-0. Accessed August 9, 2016.