Hazardous Waste Generation and Disposal by the Industrial-Commercial-Institutional (ICI) Sector in a Resource-Based Community

Abstract

The municipal refuse in resource-based communities may contain high volumes of hazardous wastes from industrial, commercial and institutional activities because of the remote locations and the high costs for transportation to a central treatment facility. Previous results indicate that household hazardous waste contributes less than one percent of the municipal waste stream in urban areas, but there are no estimates of the significance of ICI waste generation and disposal of hazardous materials to landfills in rural communities. This research project identified and measured the disposal of hazardous materials from ICI activities in a resource-based community in western Canada in 1991. A sample of ICI agencies and firms were surveyed to determine firm characteristics, waste generation rates and disposal methods. Simultaneously, the waste stream was sampled at the local landfill. The results were compared to test for accuracy of the survey approach. Finally, the volumes in the refuse stream were compared to the hazardous waste quantities disposed of under manifest to hazardous waste disposal facilities. The results show that the ICI activities contribute hazardous materials in significant weight fractions (about 2.7%) of the refuse stream to the local landfill. This quantity amounts to approximately 58.2% of the total amount of hazardous materials in the landfilled refuse stream while the other 41.8% stem from households. The disposed materials consist mainly of oily wastes, paints and automotive products. ICI generators, however, dispose of an equal volume of more hazardous products at the integrated treatment facility in Swan Hills, at industrial landfills or through deepwell injection. In conclusion, it would be advisable for rural resource-based communities to consider local transfer stations or collection depots as a management option because larger volumes of hazardous products than previously expected are being disposed of in community landfills which are often not equipped with sophisticated containment systems.