Exam 17: Managing Our Waste

The Fresh Kills Landfill ________________.

Describe what environmentalists mean when they say that RCRA deals with waste streams by life cycle analysis (ʺfrom cradle to graveʺ).

To safeguard against groundwater contamination, sanitary landfills are ________________.

All of the following are considered to define types of hazardous waste except ________________.

Funding for superfund toxic waste sites ________________.

Industrial ecologists ________________.

________________ represent(s) the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste.

In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, glass is ________________.

Read the following scenario and answer the question below. The prevalence of ʺthrowaway mentalitiesʺ and increased packaging has amplified the consumption of paper and plastic in our society. Disposable plates, cups, and utensils are convenient, sanitary, and inexpensive. Further packaging also preserves freshness, prevents breakage, protects against tampering, provides information to consumers, and allows shipment of products over long distances. However, paper and plastic do not degrade readily in sanitary landfills. Garbologist William Rathje found legible newspapers in landfills decades after disposal. Because trees used to make virgin paper and petrochemicals used to make plastics may soon become depleted, source reduction is the best solution to the waste dilemma. Denmark has banned the use of non -refillable beverage containers and McDonaldʹs restaurants in Austria and Sweden have been using biodegradable, compostable cutlery. Recycling has value as well, as long as the recycling loop is closed and people purchase recycled items. Bottle bills and municipal curbside collection provide recycling incentives. Paper recycling is profitable if waste is properly sorted. All kinds of paper and cardboard are recyclable. Food and paperboard (uncorrugated thin coated board) can contaminate collections, however, reducing their value. After processing, paper and cardboard are used to make paper towels and paperboard for packaging cereal, shoes, and toys. Decapped, washed, and squashed plastic is recycled into carpets, pillows, and new bottles. Although low -density polyethylene, or LDPE (recycling symbol #4), from grocery bags is the most widely used plastic, beverage bottle polyethylene terephthalate, or PETE (symbol #1), and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE (symbol #2), are the most widely recycled plastics. Containers from toxic substances such as motor oil, pesticides, and solvents are not usually accepted with collected plastic because of contamination. Methods to reuse and recycle polystyrene are in development, although presently, Styrofoam is not collected with other plastics and so it is considered a contaminant as well. -The best way to reduce plastic in landfills is to ________________.

Describe the advantages of composting.

Describe the growing problems in dealing with E-waste.

The best solution to the solid waste problem is to ________________.

The first bottle bills were ________________.

Read the following scenario and answer the question below. The prevalence of ʺthrowaway mentalitiesʺ and increased packaging has amplified the consumption of paper and plastic in our society. Disposable plates, cups, and utensils are convenient, sanitary, and inexpensive. Further packaging also preserves freshness, prevents breakage, protects against tampering, provides information to consumers, and allows shipment of products over long distances. However, paper and plastic do not degrade readily in sanitary landfills. Garbologist William Rathje found legible newspapers in landfills decades after disposal. Because trees used to make virgin paper and petrochemicals used to make plastics may soon become depleted, source reduction is the best solution to the waste dilemma. Denmark has banned the use of non -refillable beverage containers and McDonaldʹs restaurants in Austria and Sweden have been using biodegradable, compostable cutlery. Recycling has value as well, as long as the recycling loop is closed and people purchase recycled items. Bottle bills and municipal curbside collection provide recycling incentives. Paper recycling is profitable if waste is properly sorted. All kinds of paper and cardboard are recyclable. Food and paperboard (uncorrugated thin coated board) can contaminate collections, however, reducing their value. After processing, paper and cardboard are used to make paper towels and paperboard for packaging cereal, shoes, and toys. Decapped, washed, and squashed plastic is recycled into carpets, pillows, and new bottles. Although low -density polyethylene, or LDPE (recycling symbol #4), from grocery bags is the most widely used plastic, beverage bottle polyethylene terephthalate, or PETE (symbol #1), and high-density polyethylene, or HDPE (symbol #2), are the most widely recycled plastics. Containers from toxic substances such as motor oil, pesticides, and solvents are not usually accepted with collected plastic because of contamination. Methods to reuse and recycle polystyrene are in development, although presently, Styrofoam is not collected with other plastics and so it is considered a contaminant as well. -Closing the recycling loop refers to __________.

E-wastes are a source of ________________.

Of the following, ________________ represent criteria for classifying hazardous waste.

In the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the metals in the winnersʹ medals were ________________.

Use the figure above to answer the following question -Volume of waste recovered by composting was insignificant until _______________

Choose the item that best matches each item in the following: -Most rapidly growing new component of hazardous municipal waste

The earthworms, fungi, and bacteria in your compost pile will NOT be happy if you give them ________________.