• This is the first textbook on solid waste engineering written by engineers, for engineering students.

• Content features up-to-date technology on solid-waste collection, processing, and disposal.

• Students will learn engineering economics applied to solid-waste engineering.

• The text includes a focus on ethical considerations in the design of solid-waste management systems.

• Includes a supplementary design problem that can be used as a semester-long project with weekly submissions of reports and a final compilation of an assimilated full engineering report.

• Updated and expanded discussion of recycling, conversion technology and the move to zero waste. Provides students with an understanding of the history and future direction of solid waste management.

• Additions and expansions to legislation and regulation section, including November 2008 European adoption of new solid waste goals and regulations.

• Waste generation and waste characterization data has been updated with the most recent findings.

• New discussion on the evolution of recyclables, starting with separate containers by commodities to single stream approach, as well as updated data on collection of recyclables.

• Chapter on Landfills has been updated and expanded to reflect changes in the field since 2002, including the planning, siting, and permitting sections.

• Includes new advances in waste combustion technology such as gasification and new clean air act regulations.

• Updated to include high solids anaerobic digestion and new studies that evaluate this technology.

• New sections on Product Stewardship and Environmental Justice as well as an updated flow control section to reflect new supreme court decisions.

1. INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Solid Waste in History. Materials Flow. The Need for Integrated Solid Waste Management. Special Wastes. Final Thoughts. Problems.

2. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE CHARACTERISTICS AND QUANTITIES

Definitions. Municipal Solid Waste Generation. Municipal Solid Waste Characteristics. Final Thoughts. Appendix: Measuring Particle Size. Problems.

3. COLLECTION

Refuse Collection Systems. Commercial Wastes. Transfer Stations. Collection of Recyclable Materials. Estimating Success of Curbside Recycling Program. Litter and Street Cleanliness. Final Thoughts. Appendix: Design of Collection Systems. Problems.

4. LANDFILLS

Planning, Siting, and Permitting of Landfills. Landfill Process. Landfill Design. Landfill Operations. Post-Closure Care and Use of Old Landfills. Landfill Mining. Final Thoughts. Problems.

5. PROCESS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

Refuse Physical Characteristics. Storing MSW. Conveying. Compacting. Shredding. Pulping. Roll  Crushing. Granulating. Final Thoughts. Appendix: The Pi Breakage Theorem. Problems

6. MATERIALS SEPARATION

General Expressions for Materials Separation. Picking (Hand Sorting). Screens. Float/Sink Separators. Magnets and Electromechanical Separators. Other Devices for Materials Separation. Materials Separation Systems. Final Thoughts. Problems.

7. COMBUSTION AND ENERGY RECOVERY

Heat Value of Refuse. Materials and Thermal Balances. Combustion Hardware Used for MSW. Pyrolysis and Gasification. Undesirable Effects of Combustion. Final Thoughts. Problems

8. BIOCHEMICAL PROCESSES

Methane Generation by Anaerobic Digestion. Composting. Final Thoughts. Problems.

9. CURRENT ISSUES IN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Life Cycle Analysis and Management. Flow Control. Public or Private Ownership and Operation. Contracting for Solid Waste Services. Financing Solid Waste Facilities. Hazardous Materials. Environmental Justice. The Role of the Solid Waste Engineer. Final Thoughts. Epilogue. Problems.

William A. Worrell

William A. Worrell received a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from Duke University in 1976 and 1978, respectively. His master’s thesis involved evaluating the separation efficiencies of various air classifiers. In 1989 he attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Summer Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. Mr. Worrell has published and/or presented 56 professional papers in the United States, England, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Peru, and China. He is a registered professional engineer in California, Georgia, and Florida.

P. Aarne Vesilind

P. Aarne Vesilind received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University and his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina. He spent a post-doctoral year with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo and a year as a research engineer with Bird Machine Company. He joined the faculty of Duke University in 1970 where he served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In 1999, he was appointed to the R. L. Rooke Chair of the Historical and Societal Context of Engineering at Bucknell University. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 2006.