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Material Management, Waste to Energy, and Resource Conservation of Land Wastes
EPA Goal 3: Cleaning up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development
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Introduction
The Material Management and Resource Conservation Research program has been an important component of National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) research for the past 20 years. Waste-to-energy research investigates increased energy generation from waste materials. It addresses the goals set forth by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to address the nation’s energy needs from a life-cycle perspective. It is a high research priority for Congress and for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste (OSW).
The program also includes landfill research needed to evaluate existing risk management options and to develop new options for landfill management. Construction testing and long term performance evaluation of materials used for composite covers and liners are included in the research. Additional studies are being conducted on:
- The design, construction, and performance of dry landfill cells and identification of
material properties compatible with various types of landfills (municipal solid waste,
hazardous waste, construction and demolition debris) - The beneficial use of waste (coal combustion residues)
- Deriving energy from municipal waste landfills
- Reuse of land resources
The research results continue to be used in EPA regulations and guidance documents. Ongoing research on the operation of landfills as bioreactors, the wide use of evapotranspiration landfill covers, and the development of a better understanding of containment effectiveness is strongly supported by OSW. NRMRL also responds to problematic landfill sites at the request of the program office or regions. This has led to increased investment in order to answer specific research questions.
Emerging land issues, such as asbestos abatement, the fate of disaster debris, and the remediation of mobile methamphetamine laboratories, are being targeted for continued research.
Currently, NRMRL is examining bioreactor landfills, but the program will be expanded to include second-generation feed stocks, such as municipal wastes and wastes from concentrated animal feeding operations because they can be used as a fuel. Thermal treatment co-generation technologies and emerging waste gasification systems will be investigated for environmental and economic viability. Another important area is research that supports energy production from former industrial and disposal sites.
The research also involves resource conservation and evaluates disposal or reuse of wastes for their capacity to release hazardous constituents into the environment. Leach testing and hazard evaluation for wastes, such as road bed, drywall, concrete, mine and disaster debris, are ongoing. This research also complements a component of air/mercury research for the development and application of testing protocols for coal combustion residues. Through the development of tools, approaches, methods, and technologies, the research has facilitated the revitalization of potentially contaminated sites.
Environmental Issue or Problem
The Material Management and Resource Conservation Research program is driven by increasingly complex environmental problems, such as improving the rate of recycled municipal waste and reused industrial materials, cleaning up and revitalizing contaminated lands, responding to an increasing number of natural disasters, converting waste into energy, and global climate change.
Accidents, spills, leaks, and past improper disposal and handling of hazardous materials and wastes have resulted in tens of thousands of sites across our country that have contaminated our land, water (groundwater and surface water), and air (indoor and outdoor). Some of the more common categories of contaminants are industrial solvents, petroleum products, metals, pesticides, bacteria, and radiological materials. These contaminants can threaten human health as well as the environment, impede economic growth, and threaten the vitality of communities.
Long-Term Goal and Annual Performance Goals Addressed
Land Research Program Multi-Year Plan: Fiscal Years 2007–2012 (PDF) (125 pp, 1.25 MB, About PDF)
Contact
Trish Erickson
Assistant Laboratory Director, Land