Deck 3: Waste: Our Sinks Are Almost Sunk

Question 1

In the context of food waste, buy one get one (aka BOGO) free offers:

A) Are often attempts to push the cost of waste from retailers onto consumers.
B) Reduce waste as most consumers use both items.
C) Are outlawed in the US in an attempt to reduce food waste.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What is extended producer responsibility?

A) A type of life cycle analysis that takes into consideration the ecological footprint of stockholders.
B) An attempt to make companies manufacture products according to specific specifications determined by the Environmental Protection Agency.
C) An attempt to make manufactures responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products.
D) An attempt to force manufacturers to treat any animals they deal with humanly and responsibly.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What is unusual about South Korea when it comes to their handling of food waste?

A) They make their prison population eat food waste.
B) They dump their food waste in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (that strip of land that separates North and South Korea).
C) They made it illegal to send food waste to the landfill.
D) They invented new recipes that incorporate food waste.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Food waste in the United States is:

A) Not much of a problem (in other words, very little food is wasted).
B) A substantial problem (more than a quarter of food produced is wasted).
C) Becoming less of a problem (we waste less today than we did 30 years ago).
D) Only a problem in the fast food sector of the food system.

Question 5

A life cycle analysis (LCA) of paper coffee cups versus reusable coffee cups discussed in Society and the Environment tell us:

A) That the sustainable choice, over the long term, depends on a lot of factors.
B) That you should never choose paper coffee cups if you can help it.
C) That reusable coffee cups are a total waste of money in all applications and cases.
D) All of the above.

Question 6

E-waste refers to:

A) Spam and the other forms of junk emails that populate our email inboxes that try to get us to over-consume.
B) Discarded computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, digital photo and music devices, refrigerators, toys, and televisions.
C) Waste that has been incinerated to generate electricity.
D) Total waste generated among member countries of the European Union.

Question 7

Which is a definition of fermentation?

A) The breaking down of biodegradable materials by microorganisms in an oxygen-free environment (buried organic materials)
B) Also known as "anaerobic decomposition"
C) Another way that waste contributes to global warming
D) All of the above

Question 8

Which is a definition of municipal waste?

A) Urban storm water and sewage.
B) Toxic waste that is from industrial practices.
C) All solid waste originating from homes, industries, businesses, demolition, land clearing and construction.
D) All of the above.

Question 9

Which is a definition of embodied energy?

A) Sum total of all the energy used throughout the product's life cycle.
B) Total household energy.
C) Heat energy from automobiles and traffic.
D) All of the above.

Question 10

Which statement(s) describe E-waste?

A) Discarded computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, digital cameras, refrigerators, radios, televisions, etc.
B) E-waste is expected to rise sharply in developing countries
C) Toxic materials in e-waste: barium, cadmium, lead, lithium, mercury, nickel, silver
D) All of the above

Question 11

Exposures linked to birth defects and organ and nervous system damage among workforce especially in the developing world, is an example of:

A) Municipal waste.
B) E-waste.
C) Life cycle (LCA) analysis.
D) All of the above.

Question 12

European countries all recycle the same percentage of their municipal waste stream.

Question 13

From an ecological standpoint recycling is a winner relative to consuming identical items made from non-recycled materials as the energy used to extract and process those materials are an order of magnitude higher than what is used to recover the same material through recycling.

Question 14

All products come with some environmental footprint.

Question 15

Workers at recycling centers are exposed to all sorts of biohazards through source separating.

Question 16

Biohazards are more of an occupational hazard at industrial sites more so than at recycling facilities.

Question 17

Down-cycling is turning waste products into materials of lesser quality than original uses.

Question 18

Aluminum uses 50% less energy to make from recycled cans than when mining bauxite.

Question 19

Market concentration is the power wielded by Food Processors and supermarkets and can pertain to food waste.

Question 20

Recycling rates have risen steadily over the years at a constant rate across countries.

Question 21

More waste means more embodied energy discarded.

Question 22

Define Municipal solid waste.

Question 23

What is meant by the idea of "The rabbit hole"?

Question 24

Define and give examples of Embodied energy.

Question 25

Define and give examples of Anaerobic decomposition.

Question 26

Define the Rubbish theory.

Question 27

What are Landfills and how do they affect climate change?

Question 28

Define Commodity chain.

Question 29

Define and give an example of Footprint shifting.

Question 30

What is meant by Life-cycle analysis?

Question 31

Define and give examples of Bio-hazards.

Question 32

Define e-waste and its impact on the environment and people.

Question 33

Define Market concentration.

Question 34

Extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Question 35

Define recycling and discuss the current state of recycling around the world.

Question 36

What is Down-cycling?

Question 37

Which Fast Fact would you use to talk to and educate others about our landfill problem and/or our toxic (and nuclear) waste or food waste problem? Why and what would you say?

Question 38

Discuss and explain "food waste" and use the terms "aesthetics," "market concentration" and "buyer power" when discussing the problem of food waste and potential solutions.

Question 39

Discuss and explain some of the risks and benefits to recycling. Use the term "biohazards" when addressing some of the risks.

Question 40

Discuss and explain (drawing heavily from the chapter) the connections between garbage and public health. Reference Table 3.2 on areas served by municipal waste management services when developing your explanation. There are many health risks and diseases associated with uncollected waste. What are some of them? And who is most vulnerable?

Question 41

It is often said that we have become a throwaway society. Why do you think this is?

Question 42

When something of yours breaks, rips or simply stops working, how often do you first try to get it repaired? What are some of the barriers to repair and reuse?

Question 43

Do corporations bear any responsibility in this, or is waste a problem best addressed among consumers and through better municipal waste management practices?

Question 44

Is necessity the mother of invention, to repeat an old and familiar saying, or is invention the mother of necessity? Explain your reasoning.