Assignment No.

4
Course: CE-408 Environmental Engineering II
6th-Semester Civil Engineering CED UET Bannu Campus
(Marks = 10)

Submitted by: Abdul Basit

Reg: # 16BNCIV0810
Section “A”

UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

PESHAWAR, CAMPUS-III BANNU
 Dutch Green Plan
Word: “Dutch”
 Overtime English speaking people used the word Dutch to describe the
people from Netherlands and Germany.
 Low Dutch referred to people from flat lands and in what now the
Netherlands.
 High Dutch referred to people from mountainous area of what is now called
southern Germany.
 Within the holy roman empire the word Netherlands was used to describe
people from low lying (nether) region (land).

Netherlands Green Plan

 The Netherlands possesses one of the most advanced frameworks for
achieving sustainability of any industrialized nation: the National
Environmental Policy Plan, or NEPP, which was first adopted in 1989.
 In the Netherlands, all the elements of successful green planning have come
together to make environmental recovery a reality.
 NEPP: National Environmental Policy Plan(1989)
 The NEPP has been revised every four years into three progressive
variations reflecting the growth, lessons learned, challenges, and new
objectives.
 It is supported by innovative environmental management approaches with a
reliable fiscal commitment, and strategic governance that is highly
accountable to its participatory citizenry.
 The intention of NEPP is to create a sustainable environment within 25
years, one lifetime.
 Proof of the NEPPs' success is that over 70% of the original goals have been
achieved.
History:
The Netherlands is a small and densely populated country known for its
progressive social policies and rich tradition of cooperation. Since the 13th
century, the Dutch have worked together to alter their country's geography by
reclaiming 30% of their land from the sea through a series of complex dikes and
drainage canals. This cultural understanding of their limits has led to a modern
environmental policy that has become the model for green plans and is
characterized by consensus building and comprehensive, long-range planning.
Increasing industrialization in the Netherlands led to growing environmental
concerns and development of a disparate collection of environmental regulations in
the 1970s.
In 1988, three incidents riveted the attention of the Dutch population to the
fact that they were losing environmental ground and the existing regulatory system
was not working. First, 14,000 North Sea harbor seals, whose immune systems had
been weakened by water pollution, died. Second, the publication of a scientific
report entitled, "Concern for Tomorrow," made the Dutch realize that they were
nearing their carrying capacity and called for an overall reduction of emission
pollutants by 70-90% by 2010. The final catalyst was the Christmas message from
the beloved Queen Beatrix when she warned her citizens "the earth is slowly
dying," and called for immediate action. Queen Beatrix has since become known
as the Green Queen, and although her speech inspired environmental action,
existing regulations were not up to the task.
Insufficient environmental protection, economic decline, and a serious
burden placed on Dutch companies by the existing regulatory system combined to
push government officials toward a more comprehensive, management-based
approach benefiting both the environment and economy. The government sought
direct input from both industry and environmental groups into the policy
development process. As a result, the first National Environmental Policy Plan
(NEPP) was adopted by Parliament in 1989 to achieve a sustainable, high-quality
environment within 25 years, one generation. The government, industry and non-
profit community continue to move progressively toward the goal of sustainability
and are well on their way to accomplishing most of their targets. These targets, set
in 1989 with the first NEPP, were revised every four years in three variations of
the NEPP. Despite significant changes in parliament, shifting priorities of the
electorate, and an increase in environmental regulations required by the European
Union, the goals of the NEPP remain intact.
Milestones
1. Surface Water:
Thirty years ago the river Rhine was so polluted no one was allowed
to eat the few remaining fish. Now children swim and fish abound in the
Rhine due to halting of large-scale salt dumping by French potassium mines
and stricter NEPP requirements on industrial discharges. Phosphates, a
leading cause of eutrophication in surface water, have been eliminated by
NEPP policy promotion of phosphate-free detergents and water purification
plants removing phosphates from wastewater. Impacts of wastewater on
surface water have decreased dramatically as a result of new sewage
policies. In addition, international agreements on water quality for the Rhine,
Meuse, and Schelde rivers have supported cleaner flowing rivers and averted
the threat of a drinking water shortage.
2. Processing Waste:
From generation to disposal the waste problem in the Netherlands has
been resolved. In 1972 the Dutch identified an increase in quantities of waste
difficult to process, such as chemical and industrial waste, and special waste
types including hospital waste and car wrecks. They sought solutions by
expanding processing capability of incinerators and landfills. NEPP policies
have now taken waste disposal to a new sustainable level of prevention
through "producer responsibility" incentives, recycling, and prohibiting
landfill when incineration is possible. Furthermore, NEPP policy has
prohibited the exportation of waste to landfills in other countries.
3. Air Quality:
Today the Dutch are enjoying healthy local air quality, a dramatic
change from the acute public health problems of yesteryear, particularly in
the Rijnmond area. Air pollution caused by sulphur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, hydrocarbons, and lead compounds has become manageable as a
result of the implementation of NEPP policies, and air quality in the
Netherlands has dramatically improved. Use of these chemicals is controlled
by voluntary covenants between the government and industry, with industry
providing stringent measures of restraint on release of chemical pollutants.
Management Strategies
1. Government Role
 The Environmental Ministry and RIVM developed the following
special management Framework to deal with the complexity of
environmental issues and support comprehensive solutions.
 Eight "Themes" of general category in which all environmental
problems are subsumed include: acidification, eutrophication,
dehydration of the water table, dispersion of uncontrolled hazardous
substances, waste, squandering of resources, local noise-odor-air
nuisances, and global climate change.
 Five Geographic scale models include: local, regional, fluvial,
continental, and global.
 Six Target groups of the business sector with many subgroups
include: agriculture, building trade, consumer and retail trade, energy
sector, industry and refineries, and traffic and transportation.

2. Market-Oriented Instruments
Green Taxes
Tax policies have been very effective and will continue to play a large
role in the future. Green taxes have been designed primarily to change
behavior rather than raise funds for environmental expenditures. Revenue
taken in by green taxes is allocated to the general budget as environmental
policy, like other policy fields, is financed from the general budget.
a. Fuel Green Tax
b. Energy Green Tax
c. Tapwater Green Tax
d. Groundwater Green Tax
e. Waste Green Tax.
3. Transition Management.
Making progress on environmental problems requires technological,
economic, socio-cultural and institutional changes. Innovative objectives
must be formulated, modified as needed, and interrelated policy instruments
applied. Transition management requires coordination by government with
 concepts of uncertainty, complexity and cohesion at its core in addition to a
long-term time frame of reference with short-term decisions.

4. Emissions, Energy & Mobility

For a sustainable energy system, a strategy of publicly funded
activities in conjunction with national government financial support in areas
of research, development and demonstration projects is being developed.
Additional financial government support will be needed for introduction into
the public sector.

5. Achieving Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agricultures requires discussions between farmers,
consumers, nature and environmental organizations as well as administrative
action by government agencies that engages citizen input and stakeholder
appeals. For quality assessments of area value it is justifiable to aim for
higher quality where social, economic, and environmental problems
reinforce each other. To strengthen environmental policy innovation, the
national government sets rigid minimum environmental quality standards to
be monitored in conjunction with lower tiers of government during
implementation and enforcement. In many cases local government is better
able to improve the quality of living environment than the national
government. In these cases, municipalities will be given greater freedom and
integrated responsibility for quality improvements, whether part of the
regional plan or as separate environmental policy plans.

6. Chemical Substance Implementation Agreements

Government continues to play a significant role in balancing costs and
benefits while assuming maximum risks in relation to chemical substances.
Use of the precautionary principle governs unknown risks. Government and
business are drafting implementation agreements in steps to be accomplished
by 2020, when all chemical substances will have been categorized as
follows: concern according to risk, use of less harmful alternative taken
when possible, chemical substance profiles be publicly available, and when
it is impossible to classify substances they may be restricted or prohibited.
Challenges
1. Population Growth:
The Netherlands is roughly twice the size of New Jersey with a
population of 16 million people. There are approximately 381 people per
square kilometer, the second highest density in the world, after Bangladesh.
Given its lack of resources and small size, the Netherlands has exceeded its
environmental carrying capacity. Even with a decrease of immigrants and
greater emigration, overpopulation continues to be a major issue affecting all
sectors, and has yet to be directly addressed.

2. Public Perception:
The incidence of BSE (Mad-cow) disease and dioxin contaminated-
chickens and pigs have led to a loss of public trust in the government's
ability to regulate food safety and protect Dutch citizens' health. With live
animals and food being transported across countries and continents, there is
a greater likelihood of unknown bacterial risks. These new risks require
greater research and development of a more structured, integrated system of
early detection.

3. Persistent Problems:
Many issues have been adequately addressed and are being
appropriately managed; however, some persistent problems remain and are
enhanced by economic growth, which leads to overconsumption and waste.
Noise and odor nuisances along with their cumulative effects are also
persistent problems affecting the quality of life in the Netherlands.
Environmental policies addressing these issues employ tools such as the
polluter pays principle and are expressed in sustainable terms.

4. Threats to Health:
Long-term environmental problems causing unknown health hazards
include chronic chemical exposure, and risks from newly developed
chemicals and genetically modified organisms. Although incentives and
alternatives are being introduced, due to the increased numbers of vehicles
and pollution from other countries, air pollution continues to exceed
standards and is not expected to be reduced by 2030. Threats to external
health and safety are due to increased pollution surrounding the chemical
industry infrastructure, and increased use of the automobile.

End of Dutch Green Plan

 Recycling of solid waste

Q: What is meant by recycling of solid waste?

Ans: Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials
and objects. Recycling can prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and
reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, thereby reducing: energy usage, air
pollution (from incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling).

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE RECYCLING

BACKGROUND
Recycling includes the collection, sorting, marketing, and processing, of
materials removed from the solid waste stream, and the transformation or
remanufacture of those materials for use as feedstock for new products and/or
other productive uses. Successful recycling includes an examination of the solid
waste stream to determine what is recyclable and marketable. Recycling efforts
can be implemented in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) is comprised of a number of solid waste streams.

The 3 principal solid waste streams that compose MSW are:

1. Residential solid waste – Solid waste generated from single-family
residences, and multi-family residences. Recyclables prevalent in the
residential waste stream include paper, plastics, metals, food scraps, yard
trimmings, textiles and personal electronics.
2. Commercial solid waste -- solid waste generated from businesses, offices,
stores, markets, institutions, government, and other commercial
establishments. Recyclables common in the commercial waste stream
include paper, plastic, metals, food, yard trimmings, lumber, textiles, and
electronic devices.
3. Industrial solid waste -- solid waste generated from non-process lines,
shipping, plant offices; solid wastes not regulated under the Clean Water
 Act, Clean Air Act, and Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act;

Other solid waste streams that may also be a part of MSW include:
 Bio-medical wastes – treated waste, where allowed, generated from
hospitals and other acute care facilities, health research institutions and
homes that result from the use and administration of medications, surgery or
other medical procedures, or medical or health research and development.
 Biosolids – typically waste generated from the de-watering of municipally
generated wastewater.
 Construction and demolition debris -- materials resulting from the
construction and demolition (C&D) of buildings and other structures,
including materials such as metals, wood, gypsum, asphalt shingles, roofing,
concrete, rocks, rubble, soil, paper, plastics and glass, but excluding
putrescible wastes. C&D components can be a significant portion of the
MSW stream with a high potential for recycling. Non-recyclable C&D
wastes may be disposed in municipal solid waste landfills or specially
designated landfills, or if cleaned of unacceptable debris, used for land
reclamation.
 Other -- there are a host of other separately managed solid wastes that may
be a part of MSW such as tires, street sweepings, storm catchment wastes,
automotive shredding fluff, carpet, white goods, furniture and
mattresses.

Recycling material from the waste stream can be encouraged through several
approaches, including:
 Ordinances/legislation/mandatory programs
 Voluntary programs at businesses or institutions
 Reward or incentive based programs

Recyclables can be collected through a variety of approaches, including:

 Curbside collection of commingled recyclables (single-stream collection)
 Curbside collection of source separated recyclables
 Curbside collection of mixed MSW
 Drop-off and buy-back programs
  Deposit ordinances and legislation
 Commercial and industrial collections specific to the participating generator

It is not sufficient to just encourage recycling and collect recyclable materials. The
efficacy of these programs is dependent on a number of factors, including location,
demographics, and availability of processing capacity and markets

DISCUSSION OF RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES

Municipal solid waste is a complex mixture of many materials discarded by every
individual, business, government, and industry in North America. This section
reviews these material segments from the standpoint of the potential for local
government to effectively implement recycling programs.

A. Paper
Paper, which is found in everything from packaging to mail to office
supplies, makes up the largest percentage of the municipal solid waste
stream. It is also one of the most recovered materials, as recycling
opportunities are often readily available. Opportunities to recycle may be
reduced if the paper products are contaminated by such constituents as wax
and adhesives, but recyclers are increasingly finding ways to overcome these
obstacles.
a. Packaging - Paper packaging (paperboard), such as cereal and pasta
boxes, is often itself made from recycled paper stock
b. Cardboard – Corrugated cardboard boxes make up the largest
percentage of shipping boxes. When disposed of, this material is
called Old Corrugated Cardboard ( OCC) and has a long-established
niche in the recycled paper market. OCC has a strong recycling
market domestically and abroad, and is often compacted in bailers to
reduce the volume of shipping.
c. Newsprint and Magazines - Newsprint and magazines can be
effectively taken out of the municipal solid waste stream through
curbside collection or drop-off centers. Old newsprint is recycled by
 de-inking mills. Markets for recycled magazines and other coated
papers can be limited
d. Office Paper - High-grade de-inking grades such as office papers are
utilized to produce tissue products such as paper towels, toilet paper,
and facial tissue.
e. Mixed Paper - Mixed paper is a large portion of the municipal solid
waste stream. The potential for recycling this material can be
hampered by contaminants such as coated paper stock, pressure
sensitive labels, metal foils, and organic materials. Limiting or
eliminating the presence of such contaminants could improve the
recyclability of these papers. Utilization of this material as a feedstock
for composting or as a fuel in a waste-to-energy facility should be
considered.

B. Containers
a. Ferrous Metal – Food cans are a major source of ferrous metal in the
municipal solid waste stream. The market for scrap ferrous is stable,
and recovery of ferrous from collected recyclables is relatively simple
because of its magnetic characteristics. Scrap metal processors play an
integral role in the processing and aggregation of scrap metal.
b. Aluminum – Aluminum beverage containers constitute the major
portion of aluminum in the municipal solid waste stream. The
recovery market is strong. Public education and cooperative efforts,
including some statewide bottle/can deposit programs, during the past
20 to 30 years have proven effective at recovering aluminum.
c. Glass - Glass containers come in two versions – refillable and non-
refillable – and many colors (clear, green, brown, blue), which affects
the marketability of recovered product. The dominant share of the
market is non-refillable food and beverage containers.
d. Plastic – Plastic containers continue to gain an increasing share of the
consumer packaging market. Most plastic products carry a code
indicating what type of plastic resin(s) are used in the product, thus
facilitating separation and recycling of single-resin plastic products.
 However, some plastic containers, (such as squeezable bottles and
flexible pouches), may be a mix of several plastic resins, which
complicates their recyclability. The plastics industry is working to
develop an infrastructure to make recycling of more complex plastic
containers a viable option.
e. Composite Packaging - Composite packaging, a combination of
different types of packing materials, is frequently utilized for
beverages and select foodstuffs. This packaging group includes plastic
coated paper milk containers and paper/plastic/foil "aseptic" packs for
juice and sauces. Composite packaging is difficult to recycle, though
processing approaches are under development.

C. Food Scraps
Commercial food scraps along with yard trimmings, represent the
most easily separated organic wastes in the municipal solid waste stream.
The major sources of commercial food scraps are food service
establishments, grocery and super stores and the warehouse/distribution
industry.
Many local governments are increasingly seeking ways to implement
separate collection systems for these commercial, large-scale food scraps,
while also evaluating the addition of household food scraps to curbside
organics collection programs. This would allow the capture of these
materials for composting or anaerobic digestion.

D. Vegetative Wastes
Vegetative wastes include, yard wastes, street sweeping waste, lawn
service wastes, nursery wastes and other similar organics. Soiled paper
waste may also be added to this category.
There are several ways to recycle or reuse vegetative wastes
including: mulching; on-site composting by generators (e.g. residences,
nurseries, or horticulture activities); through organized collection systems
with centralized composting or anaerobic digestion operations.
 Residential or "backyard" composting can complement large scale
composting or anaerobic digestion.

E. Non-food/beverage container glass

Small quantities of glass, such as broken dishes or window panes, and
ceramics are present in the solid waste stream, but the chemistry of this glass
is not compatible with container glass. This type of mixed glass can be
crushed and used in insulation or "glassphalt", (which is road asphalt that
includes a percentage of recycled glass).State and federal regulations play a
role in the marketability of recovered material for these uses.

F. Household Hazardous Wastes (HHW)

/Paints/Pesticides/Unregulated Hazardous Wastes
These wastes are a very small portion (typically less than 1 percent) of
the municipal solid waste stream. Removal of these products from the
disposed waste stream does not result in measurable reductions in weight or
volume, but does result in the reduction of some toxic materials from the
residential solid waste stream. HHW is typically considered a universal
waste exempt from federal disposal restrictions though the same products
disposed by small businesses are banned from landfills. Thus, many
communities and agencies nation-wide have developed permanent or
recurring HHW and very small quantity generator hazardous waste
collection programs. Collected materials require special handling, and if they
are hazardous wastes, must be disposed of as such. Some producers (such as
agricultural pesticide manufacturers) are developing extended producer
responsibility programs to take back products and empty containers.

G. Construction & Demolition Debris

Construction and demolition debris is sometimes disposed of in
separate inert or demolition debris landfills rather than MSW landfills
 because of the different nature of the material and the existence of
regulations allowing and/or making alternate disposal facilities cost
competitive. Depending on the building activity and age of the building
stock in an area, C&D debris can represent a significant portion of the
municipal solid waste stream. Much of this waste is recoverable, and can be
reclaimed, reused, or recycled. If collected mixed, processing is required to
separate the material components and render them suitable for marketing.
Materials can also be source separated on site, which reduces the need for
processing, and facilitates re-use and recycling.

H. Batteries
Consumers tend to consider all household batteries as hazardous
waste. However, batteries contain varying degrees of toxic and corrosive
materials that help define the appropriate management system. Some may be
more suited for recycling, some for disposal within an MSW landfill, and
some for handling as a hazardous waste.
A number of communities have started collection programs for
batteries. Options include:
a. Deposit programs that encourage their return to dealers.
b. Collection at household hazardous waste collection days.
c. Separate collection at the source with recyclables or MSW.
d. Producer responsibility requirements to collect and process the
batteries.

The advantage of collecting batteries as part of household hazardous

waste collections is that it sends a clear message to the public that these
products are not benign and they require special handling. This may
discourage their use except where necessary. Careful consideration of
costs and processing capacity for these materials must be used when
implementing a program to ensure its long term viability.
I. Other Recyclable Materials
There are many types of waste materials that do not fit neatly into
categories. These include tires, used oil and filters, discarded appliances
("white goods"), discarded electronic waste (“e-waste”) and similar hard to
collect difficult-to-process materials. These materials need specialized
collection and processing systems in order to successfully remove them from
the waste stream.
Recovered tires, for example, can be burned in some facilities as a
fuel to generate electricity, made into new durable products, processed to
manufacture new rubber products, or even formed into reefs to provide
marine habitats. However, all of these potential uses are subject to
processing and market demand limitations and thus are not widely available
everywhere in North America.
Used oil and filters can be collected at solid waste facility drop-off
sites, automotive garages and household hazardous waste collection centers
or events for re-refining or reuse. A very high percentage of auto hulks are
recycled by the scrap industry, although disposal of the shredder "fluff" from
auto recycling is a consistent concern due to the presence of hazardous
contaminants. Shredder fluff has been utilized as alternative daily cover at
MSW landfills.
Household appliances (white goods) are already recovered in large
percentages. Many states and provinces have passed laws requiring the
removal of capacitors and recycling of CFC coolants from appliances.
Appliances can be handled by scrap dealers equipped to remove and handle
PCBs and the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants.
Electronic waste is a growing portion of the municipal waste stream,
including personal devices such as mobile phones, tablet and laptop
computers, personal computers, and other personal electronics. Extended
producer responsibility laws in some states facilitate the collection and
recycling of these devices by requiring the manufacturers to design and
implement a program for collection and processing. Some municipalities
operate periodic collection events or have established permanent collection
and/or processing facilities for the recovery of these devices.

End of Solid Waste Recovery