Trash or Treasure

Running head: Trash or Treasure

Trash or Treasure?

Jaime Krick

Davenport University

GEOL-125 Environmental Studies

Amanda Bell

March 21, 2010

Trash or Treasure? Putting Coal Combustion Waste to Work

In the November 2009, volume 117, number 11, of Environmental Health Perspectives, David Tenenbaum wrote an article on Trash or Treasure? Putting Coal Combustion Waste to Work. Tenenbaum informs the economy of how waste is recycled in construction material.

The American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) gives several reports in this article on Coal Combustion Waste (CCW) and how it is used. Beneficial use is a term that means products used to replace another product. Forty three percent of CCW was produced in 2007 in the United States for beneficial use. Every year CCW is used in construction materials, mostly in concrete and wallboard. Some other things it is used in are roofing granules, saggregate for paving materials, and asphalt filler. Several million tons of CCW is used in these products according to the ACAA which was reported in 2007. Another beneficial use that CCW is used is to fill abandoned mines that neutralize acidic liquid which then can drain into nearby waters. Critics think this is unregulated dumping rather than recycling. Structural fills and embankments contain 10.6 million tons.

Fly ash is a fine material that is captured after combustion in filters or electrostatic precipitators that is produced from CCW (Tenenbaum, 2009). Approximately 71.1 million tons each year of CCW is produced (Tenenbaum, 2009). Fly ash is used for several different construction products. Some of the examples are lumber for outdoor furniture, soil amendments for green roof and landscaping, sidewalks to make them more durable, and even some carpet backing. Fly ash can strengthen highways by using it for a soil and a good platform. Fences and decking keep termites and mold away if it is made with fly ash. Instead of using clay, heat, or Portland cement in...