You are here:
HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA - A MITE PROGRAM EVALUATION
Citation:
Bertrand, H., D. Oliver, M. Tormey, D. Cearley, AND R. W. Beck. HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE CHARACTERIZATION STUDY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA - A MITE PROGRAM EVALUATION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-95/140 (NTIS 96-121819), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
Information
Description:
The objectives of the Household Hazardous Waste Characterization Study (the HHW Study) were to: 1) Quantity the annual household hazardous waste (HHW) tonnages disposed in Palm Beach County Florida’s (the County) residential solid waste (characterized in this study as municipal solid waste "MSW") by material type on both a net and gross weight basis (net weight consisted of material weight only; gross weight included the material and the containers); 2) Quantify the annual HHW tonnages diverted through the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County’s (the Authority’s) household hazardous waste collection facility (HHWCF) on both a net and gross weight basis; and 3) Compute HHW diversion rates based on a comparison of disposed and diverted tonnages. HHW disposal data were obtained through the identification and weighing of HHW materials collected in connection with a three-season solid waste characterization study (the characterization Study), which was conducted in the County in the Authority’s Fiscal Year 1993/1994 by R. W. Beck. HHW materials were obtained from 117 residential MSW samples (each MSW sample weighed between 200 and 300 pounds), which were selected in the County based on a statistical sampling of solid waste vehicles. Since MSW samples from industrial commercial and institutional sources (ICI) were also being sorted during the Characterization Study, hazardous wastes identified in these samples were characterized in the same manner as HHW. We obtained such information based on 169 ICI MSW samples. The results of the ICI hazardous waste analyses are included for review in Exhibit A, but were not included in the diversion rate computation since business and commercial hazardous waste is not considered HHW. Characterization of the diverted HHW was based on data collected by HHWCF staff during the three seasons of the Characterization Study. On a net basis, the total disposed HHW was computed to be 695 tons per year and the diverted tonnage was computed to be 189 tons per year, for a total generated quantity of 884 tons per year. This tonnage compares to a total of approximately 900,000 tons per year of residential MSW generated (including disposed and recycled MSW) in the County. Based on these figures, approximately 0.1 percent of the generated residential MSW in the County is HHW. Table 1 shows the composition of total disposed, diverted and generated HHW tonnages on a net weight basis. The diversion rates for each material are shown also. Total generated HHW composition is shown graphically in Figure ES-1. The largest constituents of the generated HHW are automobile related materials, paints, aerosols, cleansers and disinfectants insecticides, batteries and adhesives. The "other miscellaneous" materials within the major miscellaneous category consist of 17 different types of HHW materials, including ice packs, sealers, putty, glazing compound, nail polish and correction fluid. None of these material types constitutes more than 25 percent of the "other miscellaneous subcategory.