Geological Considerations in Disposal of Solid Municipal Wastes in Texas

GC7002. Geological Considerations in Disposal of Solid Municipal Wastes in Texas, by P. T. Flawn, L. J. Turk, and C. H. Leach. 22 p., 1970. ISSN: 0082-3309. Print.

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From the Introduction
In the United States the average citizen produces 6 to 8 pounds of solid wastes per day--this includes his personal contribution plus his pro-rata share of industrial and agricultural wastes. A city of 200,000 to 300,000 people is faced with collecting, transporting, and disposing of about 400 tons to 500 tons of solid wastes every day. This is the amount produced by the residents and small businesses--it does not include the wastes from big industrial operations. Costs of solid waste disposal range from $10 to $30 per ton depending on local labor costs, the distance the material must be transported, and the costs of acquisition and operation of disposal sites. In Texas, cost of landfill operations alone averages $1.10 per ton (Gazda and Malina, 1969, p. 23). The practice of open burning of wastes at the disposal site has been discontinued in many areas because of air pollution control legislation. This increases the volume of material that must be buried. In some areas the volume of solid wastes is reduced by high-temperature incinerators prior to ultimate disposal, in others controlled burning of wastes produces by-product steam.


Keywords: waste disposal, Texas, United States

CONTENTS

Introduction

Sanitary landfill

Texas Solid Wastes Disposal Act of 1969

Geological formations suitable for sanitary landfills near major Texas cities

Cities of the Black Prairie--Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Waco

Cities of the coastal margin- -Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Harlingen, Houston, Port Arthur, Texas City

Cities of the High Plains--Amarillo, Lubbock, Abilene

Edinburg-McAllen-Pharr

El Paso

Fort Worth

Laredo

Midland-Odessa

San Angelo

Sherman-Denison

Texarkana

Tyler

Wichita Falls

References

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures 1-4. Surface waste disposal and ground-water contamination

1. Perched water table, near stream
2. Low permeability host, high water table
3. Low permeability host, moderate climate
4. Dry area, fill well above water table

Figure 5. Texas metropolitan areas


Citation
Flawn, P. T., Turk, L. J., and Leach, C. H., 1970, Geological Considerations in Disposal of Solid Municipal Wastes in Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Geological Circular 70-2, 22 p.