Deck 15: Waste: What Happens to All the Stuff We Use

Question 1

Which phrase correctly describes the waste stream?

A) the waste that consumers dispose of from households and commercial businesses
B) the flow of materials from "upstream" processes, such as extraction, to their disposal
C) all of the discarded material in solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous form
D) an accounting of all the possible impacts from making and disposing of a product

Answer 1

the flow of materials from "upstream" processes, such as extraction, to their disposal

Question 2

Municipal solid waste specifically refers to

A) the waste from households and businesses.
B) the waste created from electronic devices.
C) all unprocessed material that is incinerated.
D) garbage that remains after primary recycling.

Answer 2

the waste from households and businesses.

Question 3

A life-cycle assessment of a product accounts for the environmental impact from which of these steps?

A) making and distributing the product
B) using the product
C) disposing of the product
D) All of these are correct.

Answer 3

All of these are correct.

Question 4

Why does the per-capita generation curve level off between 1990 and 2010?

A) The overall number of households that produce garbage has decreased.
B) The upstream waste generated before the products reach consumers has decreased
C) The participation in household recycling and composting efforts has expanded.
D) The quantity and capacity of sanitary landfills has steadily increased.

Question 5

Select the example of an "upstream" process in the waste stream.

A) In clothing production, colored dyes generate unusable wastewater.
B) In copper extraction, smelting produces slag, an unwanted by-product.
C) In distribution, packing peanuts protect goods during transportation.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 6

Which phrase correctly describes the category of solid waste?

A) includes all of the discarded material from all parts of the waste stream
B) only includes the "downstream" waste at the end of the waste stream
C) includes solid and semisolid materials but not liquids or gaseous wastes
D) None of these are correct.

Question 7

The average American throws out about pounds of municipal solid waste each day.

A) 4.5
B) 3.0
C) 2.0
D)0.5

Question 8

Which term refers to the liquid that forms when rainwater or groundwater mixes with decomposing waste at the dump?

A) e-waste
B) leachate
C) waste stream
D) sewage sludge

Question 9

Select the waste management technique in which waste piles are left uncovered and freely accessible to residents and trash collectors.

A) open dumping
B) sanitary landfill
C) geologic disposal
D) bioreactor landfill

Question 10

What was the goal of the Basel Convention?

A) to protect marine environments from the wastes that are associated with ocean dumping
B) to end open dumping through subsidies that increase the affordability of sanitary landfills
C) to restrict movements of hazardous waste from more developed to lesser developed countries
D) to regulate the production and disposal of e-waste through a "cradle to grave" approach

Question 11

Which air pollutant is produced in open dumps, is explosive, and contributes to climate change?

A) carbon dioxide
B) methane
C) smog
D) dioxin

Question 12

Which strategy involves burning waste without energy recovery or pollution controls?

A) incineration
B) conversion
C) combustion
D) remediation

Question 13

technologies combust solid waste first and then perform secondary combustion of the resulting gases.

A) Mass burn
B) Isolation
C) Remediation
D) Scrubber

Question 14

What is the goal of the isolation management strategy?

A) the removal of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulates
B) the conversion of waste into something useful, most often electricity
C) the segregation of waste from significant contact with humans
D) the treatment of contaminated sites with microorganisms and enzymes

Question 15

Select the example of an isolation waste management strategy.

A) geologic disposal
B) sanitary landfills
C) containment buildings
D) All of these are correct.

Question 16

What happens to waste in the geologic disposal strategy?

A) Waste is injected or placed in natural formations beneath Earth's surface.
B) Waste is "dry tombed" with layers of gravel to minimize leachate.
C) Waste is aerated in underground tanks to accelerate decomposition.
D) Waste is mixed with rocks that absorb and remove heavy metals.

Question 17

Using sunflowers to naturally remove lead from contaminated topsoil is an example of which process?

A) bioreaction
B) remediation
C) isolation
D) containment

Question 18

Which of the phrases characterizes how a sanitary landfill improves on the problems associated with open dumps?

A) isolates and contains the waste
B) manages its contents
C) treats liquid and gas releases
D) All of these are correct.

Question 19

Select the statement that describes how incineration differs from simple combustion of waste.

A) Incineration uses temperatures high enough to reduce the volume of waste by 80% to 90%.
B) Incineration employs emission-control devices to capture and remove all polluting gases.
C) Incineration requires a much larger area of land to contain and remediate the residual ash.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 20

Select the waste management strategy that isolates the radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants while also allowing for constant monitoring and future retrieval of the waste.

A) geologic disposal
B) sanitary landfill
C) containment building
D) bioreactor landfill

Question 21

A waste-to-energy facility

A) uses the heat produced by incineration to power a steam turbine that generates electricity.
B) filters out the methane gas from a sanitary landfill and burns it to produce electricity.
C) separates landfill gases from the leachate and converts those gases into vehicle fuels.
D) injects liquid wastes underground at high pressure to facilitate oil and gas extraction.

Question 22

The conversion waste management strategy is most often used to

A) reduce waste volume.
B) transform landfills into parks.
C) recycle waste into new goods.
D) generate electricity.

Question 23

The bioreactor landfill strategy

A) injects water and air through horizontal wells or trenches.
B) accelerates waste decomposition by as much as 50%.
C) aerates the waste to significantly reduce methane production.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 24

Which term treats waste as "resources" for new products?

A) recycling
B) reusing
C) reducing
D) None of these are correct.

Question 25

Using recycled glass bottles to produce new bottles is an example of

A) open-loop recycling.
B) downcycling.
C) primary recycling.
D) secondary recycling.

Question 26

Select the process that converts waste material from a product into a different sort of product.

A) primary recycling
B) secondary recycling
C) closed-loop recycling
D) reusing

Question 27

How does the design for the recovery process facilitate efficient recycling?

A) The process streamlines the procedures for sorting the waste at central processing facilities.
B) The process sets standards for how recyclable materials should be collected in communities.
C) The process establishes guidelines to standardize the manufacture of materials and products.
D) The process assigns plastic resin codes to educate consumers about how to recycle plastics.

Question 28

The extensive processing required for recycling makes it more challenging economically.

A) aluminum
B) paper
C) yard waste
D) plastics

Question 29

Recycled aluminum consumes less energy than does producing new aluminum from mined bauxite ore.

A) 95%
B) 70%
C) 50%
D) 25%

Question 30

Select the phrase that describes conspicuous consumption.

A) purchasing goods to publicly display an identity or image within society
B) purchasing goods that can be easily recycled, reused, or repurposed
C) purchasing goods to cover only basic needs such as food and shelter
D) purchasing goods that are produced using all recycled materials

Question 31

The MOST fundamental way to address the problems associated with waste is to

A) increase recycling, the use of waste to make new products.
B) incinerate waste instead of landfilling in order to reduce volume.
C) reduce consumption of goods and resources.
D) require manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging.

Question 32

The increased demand for prepared foods in disposable plastic packaging was attributed to a

A) shortage of aluminum as bauxite mining regulations were introduced.
B) culture of consumers spending more time working outside the home.
C) decrease in conspicuous consumption after World War II concluded.
D) All of these are correct.

Question 33

At a café, Faith receives a plastic straw in her glass of water. She did not request the straw and knows that it will be discarded after her meal. Which scenario is the most direct and beneficial way to reduce waste?

A) encourage the café to only give out biodegradable straws
B) encourage the café to use fully compostable straws
C) encourage the café to use stainless steel reusable straws
D) encourage the café to find a recycling facility that accepts straws

Question 34

What do producer responsibility laws require for manufacturers of products and packaging?

A) to assume responsibility for collection, recycling, reuse, or disposal
B) to be responsible for the waste generated at the site of production
C) to transition from petroleum-based plastics to biodegradable plastics
D) to eliminate the practice of exporting waste to developing countries

Question 35

Briefly explain how waste-to-energy incinerators work. Describe the benefits and impacts of this waste management strategy.

Question 36

Describe the environmental advantages of recycling as a waste diversion strategy compared to incineration and landfilling of waste.

Question 37

Make a list of everything you have thrown away in the last 24 hours. Which of the items on your list could have been recycled, composted, reused, or repurposed? Which of the items on your list were not truly necessary to acquire or purchase?

Question 38

Explain why the process of recycling plastic is much more difficult than the process of recycling paper, and then provide two possible solutions to the challenge of recycling plastic.

Question 39

One aspect of our society and culture that drives consumption is the purchasing of material goods for holiday gifts. Consider how alternative gifts, such as tickets to a play or a voucher for a massage, reduce waste. Make a list of at least five potential alternative gifts that you could give to friends and family that emphasize "experiences" rather than commercially produced "stuff" that accumulates.