Water and wastes：Recycling Solid Wastes.pdfVIP

P a r t II WATER AND WASTES C h a p t e r 12 Recycling Solid Wastes As part of the building design team, interior designers and industrial by-products and radioactive and chemi- are responsible for making sure that the solid wastes cal wastes from laboratories and industries. All of this generated during construction and building operation averages out to about 45 kg (100 lb) of waste per per- are handled, stored, and removed in a safe, efficient, and son annually in the United States. Some of these mate- environmentally sound way. Whether we are designing rials, such as food scraps and paper, are links in the bi- an office cubicle to include a recycling basket or mak- ological recycling chain. Some, such as metals and ing sure that an old fireplace mantle is reused rather plastics, represent nonrenewable resources. Many waste than discarded, we can have a significant impact on how substances contain useful energy, but separation and re- the building affects the larger environment. cycling of the mingled refuse is a Herculean task. Solid Nature operates in closed cycles. One organism’s waste is the main source of land and soil pollution, next waste is another’s food. Nothing is really wasted except to the agricultural use of pesticides and fertilizers. Most a small amount of renewable energy from the sun. In- cities burn and bury ashes, or bury the refuse itself in sects and microorganisms feed on the excrement and landfills. The organic components decompose, but corpses of higher anima