Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

A) Households 
B) Farmers 
C) Small businesses 
D) Large industry 
E) Utilities 
A) Households 
B) Farmers 
C) Small businesses 
D) Large industry 
E) Utilities A

Question 2

What are the benefits and drawbacks of incinerating trash? How have these problems been dealt with in most developed countries?

Accepted Answer

Incinerating waste reduces its weight by up to 75% and its volume by up to 90%. Most North American incinerators today also generate electricity in a process called waste-to-- energy (WTE). The remaining ash is generally shipped to landfills. Although high-temperature incineration can destroy certain pollutants such as PCBs, it does not always eliminate all toxins. Combustion actually can create new hazardous chemicals. Particulates, acids, dioxins, and heavy metals may be contained in incinerator smoke. Early incinerators did not include mechanisms for mitigating air pollution, and many citizens still fear the health effects of released incinerator gases. Most developed nations now regulate incinerator emissions and some have banned incineration outright. Scrubbers have been installed in some incinerators to remove hazardous combustion by-products and neutralize acidic gases. Baghouse filters have been installed to reduce particulate emissions. Most incinerators are required to test their emissions to ensure that discarded ash meets safety standards.

Question 3

The EPA is charged with cleaning up brownfields, which are  ___________

Accepted Answer

A) urban areas contaminated by acid drainage from mining 
B) agricultural lands polluted by acid and heavy metals 
C) coastal seagrass beds damaged by industrial dumping 
D) lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials 
E) desert regions used for unsafe nuclear waste disposal 
A) urban areas contaminated by acid drainage from mining 
B) agricultural lands polluted by acid and heavy metals 
C) coastal seagrass beds damaged by industrial dumping 
D) lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials 
E) desert regions used for unsafe nuclear waste disposal D

Question 4

In general, buying in bulk is environmentally friendly because it ___________

Accepted Answer

A) encourages people to eat or use just a little bit more than smaller sizes 
B) reduces packaging waste 
C) recycles materials that would otherwise wind up in a landfill 
D) allows consumers to save money by purchasing larger amounts of an item for less 
E) encourages people to eat less or use less of a product 
A) encourages people to eat or use just a little bit more than smaller sizes 
B) reduces packaging waste 
C) recycles materials that would otherwise wind up in a landfill 
D) allows consumers to save money by purchasing larger amounts of an item for less 
E) encourages people to eat less or use less of a product

Question 5

The largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste

Accepted Answer

A) syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers 
B) radioactive materials 
C) yard debris 
D) paper 
E) glass
F)pesticide precursors
G)food scraps
H)plastic
I)metals 
A) syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers 
B) radioactive materials 
C) yard debris 
D) paper 
E) glass
F)pesticide precursors
G)food scraps
H)plastic
I)metals

Question 6

The second-largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste

Accepted Answer

A) syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers 
B) radioactive materials 
C) yard debris 
D) paper 
E) glass
F)pesticide precursors
G)food scraps
H)plastic
I)metals 
A) syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers 
B) radioactive materials 
C) yard debris 
D) paper 
E) glass
F)pesticide precursors
G)food scraps
H)plastic
I)metals

Question 7

Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.
The prevalence of "throwaway mentalities" and increased packaging have amplified the consumption of paper and plastic in our society. Disposable plates, cups, and utensils are convenient, sanitary, and inexpensive, and packaging 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 nonrefillable beverage containers, and McDonald's 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
(non- corrugated 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 flattened plastic is recycled into carpets, pillows, and new bottles. Although low-density polyethylene (LDPE), from which grocery bags are made, is the most widely used plastic, beverage bottle polyethylene terephthalate, or PET(E), and high
-density polyethylene, or HDPE, 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 is considered a contaminant as well.
- ___________  are wastepaper contaminants that can decrease the value of collected paper and cardboard.

Accepted Answer

A) Corrugated cardboard boxes 
B) Newspapers 
C) Office papers 
D) Cereal boxes 
E) Paper shopping bags 
A) Corrugated cardboard boxes 
B) Newspapers 
C) Office papers 
D) Cereal boxes 
E) Paper shopping bags

Question 8

In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban ____________

Accepted Answer

A) sanitary landfills 
B) paper from entering their waste stream 
C) composting 
D) e- waste 
E) plastic shopping bags 
A) sanitary landfills 
B) paper from entering their waste stream 
C) composting 
D) e- waste 
E) plastic shopping bags

Question 9

Over half of all U.S. MSW consists of ____________

Accepted Answer

A) plastics and metals 
B) plastics, metals, and glass 
C) glass, rubber, and wood 
D) paper, food waste, and yard waste 
E) toxic waste 
A) plastics and metals 
B) plastics, metals, and glass 
C) glass, rubber, and wood 
D) paper, food waste, and yard waste 
E) toxic waste

Question 10

Describe the advantages of composting.

Accepted Answer

In natural systems, there is no solid wa

Question 11

Decomposition in a landfill will happen faster if there is more ____________

Accepted Answer

A) air 
B) moisture 
C) sunlight 
D) natural gas 
E) methane 
A) air 
B) moisture 
C) sunlight 
D) natural gas 
E) methane

Question 12

Match the following.
A)syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers
B)radioactive materials
C)yard debris
D)paper
E)glass
F)pesticide precursors
G)food scraps
H)plastic
I)metals
-Waste component from the Islip, New York, barge that was rejected by North Carolina, Louisiana, and Mexico in 1987, so it was returned to New York

Accepted Answer

The answer of Match the following.
A)syringes, hospital gowns, and diapers
B)radioactive...

Question 13

There are three main disposal methods for hazardous waste. One is landfills. Describe how hazardous waste landfills differ from ordinary sanitary landfills. Briefly discuss the other two ways that hazardous waste is contained.

Accepted Answer

There are three primary means of hazardo

Question 14

Which of the following are classified as heavy metals?

Accepted Answer

A) lead, mercury, cadmium 
B) nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 
C) aluminum, iron, silicon 
D) carbon, hydrogen, oxygen 
E) any nonbiodegradable materials 
A) lead, mercury, cadmium 
B) nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium 
C) aluminum, iron, silicon 
D) carbon, hydrogen, oxygen 
E) any nonbiodegradable materials

Question 15

Which of the following represent the categories of hazardous waste?

Accepted Answer

A) ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic 
B) solid, liquid, gaseous 
C) nonbiodegradable and biodegradable 
D) inorganic and organic 
E) municipal, industrial and agricultural 
A) ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic 
B) solid, liquid, gaseous 
C) nonbiodegradable and biodegradable 
D) inorganic and organic 
E) municipal, industrial and agricultural

Question 16

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following questions.
  
-From the 1960s to the present, the trend has been that ___________ over time.

Accepted Answer

A) more overall waste was produced 
B) less waste was recovered for recycling 
C) less overall waste was produced 
D) less waste was sent to landfills 
E) there have been equal ratios of landfill disposal, combustion, and recovery 
A) more overall waste was produced 
B) less waste was recovered for recycling 
C) less overall waste was produced 
D) less waste was sent to landfills 
E) there have been equal ratios of landfill disposal, combustion, and recovery

Question 17

If reducing waste can increase efficiency, why is the output of industrial waste still so great? What is the application of industrial ecology and life- cycle analysis to these problems?

Accepted Answer

Physical efficiency is not always equiva

Question 18

The first bottle bills were ___________

Accepted Answer

A) a consequence of landfill regulations 
B) designed to cut down on litter 
C) designed to provide glass for road construction 
D) designed to provide incentives to industry 
E) initiated in the 1990s 
A) a consequence of landfill regulations 
B) designed to cut down on litter 
C) designed to provide glass for road construction 
D) designed to provide incentives to industry 
E) initiated in the 1990s

Question 19

What are the three basic steps in the recycling loop? What is the step that needs the most attention if the recycling loop is going to work?

Accepted Answer

The first step is collection and process

Question 20

Deep- well injection  ___________

Accepted Answer

A) is the EPA- approved method of disposing of low- level radioactive wastes 
B) is a method of disposing of hazardous wastes in deep aquifers 
C) involves the injection of hazardous wastes into porous rock deep beneath human water supplies 
D) is a pool of strong acids on the land surface used for breaking down e- waste 
E) has been banned as unsafe by the Dept. of the Interior 
A) is the EPA- approved method of disposing of low- level radioactive wastes 
B) is a method of disposing of hazardous wastes in deep aquifers 
C) involves the injection of hazardous wastes into porous rock deep beneath human water supplies 
D) is a pool of strong acids on the land surface used for breaking down e- waste 
E) has been banned as unsafe by the Dept. of the Interior

Exam 22: Managing Our Waste

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

What are the benefits and drawbacks of incinerating trash? How have these problems been dealt with in most developed countries?

The EPA is charged with cleaning up brownfields, which are ___________

In general, buying in bulk is environmentally friendly because it ___________

The largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste

The second-largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste

In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban ____________

Over half of all U.S. MSW consists of ____________

Describe the advantages of composting.

Decomposition in a landfill will happen faster if there is more ____________

There are three main disposal methods for hazardous waste. One is landfills. Describe how hazardous waste landfills differ from ordinary sanitary landfills. Briefly discuss the other two ways that hazardous waste is contained.

Which of the following are classified as heavy metals?

Which of the following represent the categories of hazardous waste?

Use the accompanying figure to answer the following questions. -From the 1960s to the present, the trend has been that ___________ over time.

If reducing waste can increase efficiency, why is the output of industrial waste still so great? What is the application of industrial ecology and life- cycle analysis to these problems?

The first bottle bills were ___________

What are the three basic steps in the recycling loop? What is the step that needs the most attention if the recycling loop is going to work?

Deep- well injection ___________

Science and Sustainability: an Introduction to Environmental Science

Earths Physical Systems: Matter, Energy, and Geology

Evolution, Biodiversity, and Population Ecology

Species Interactions and Community Ecology

Environmental Systems and Ecosystem Ecology

Ethics, Economics, and Sustainable Development

Environmental Policy: Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Human Population

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Agriculture, Biotechnology, and the Future of Food

Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

Forests, Forest Management, and Protected Areas

The Urban Environment: Creating Sustainable Cities

Environmental Health and Toxicology

Freshwater Systems and Resources

Marine and Coastal Systems and Resources

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Fossil Fuels, Their Impacts, and Energy Conservation

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