Deck 21: Solid and Hazardous Waste

Question 1

Taking a refillable coffee cup to the office and using it instead of throwaway cups is an example of ____.

A)refuse
B)reduce
C)reuse
D)repurpose
E)recycle

Answer 1

C

Question 2

How much solid and liquid wastes is created for each one pound of electronics contained in a desktop computer?

A)4 tons
B)1,000 pounds
C)500 pounds
D)250 pounds
E)10 pounds

Answer 2

A

Question 3

____ percent of the solid waste produced in the United States is buried in landfills.

A)Ninety-eight
B)Fifty-four
C)Forty-eight
D)Thirty-eight
E)Forty

Answer 3

B

Question 4

One way to deal with the creation of solid wastes is to reduce the environmental impact without trying to reduce the amount of waste produced.This is called

A)waste reduction
B)waste recycling
C)secondary pollution prevention
D)primary pollution prevention
E)integrated waste management

Question 5

Which of the following is not one of the strategies that industry and communities could use to reduce resource use, waste, and pollution?

A)redesign manufacturing processes to use less material and energy
B)redesign landfills
C)redesign products to be easier to repair, reuse and manufacture
D)reduce or eliminate packaging
E)establish cradle-to grave laws for computers, electronic equipment, appliances

Question 6

Using a combination of strategies, as much as ____ of solid and hazardous waste could be eliminated through reduction, reuse, and recycling.

A)5─10%
B)15─25%
C)25─50%
D)65─80%
E)75─90%

Question 7

Which of the following is the least desirable from an environmental standpoint?

A)refuse
B)reduce
C)reuse
D)repurpose
E)recycle

Question 8

The amount of solid waste produced in the United States each year would fill a convoy of garbage trucks stretching around the world almost

A)2 times
B)4 times
C)6 times
D)8 times
E)10 times

Question 9

What percentage of e-waste components contain materials that could be recycled or reused?

A)20
B)40
C)60
D)80
E)15

Question 10

With 4.6% of the world's population, the United States produces about ____ of the world's solid waste.

A)one-tenth
B)one-fifth
C)one-third
D)one-fourth
E)one-half

Question 11

Solid waste produced directly by households and businesses amounts to ____% of the solid waste produced in the United States.

A)less than 2
B)5
C)10
D)15
E)20

Question 12

Waste that includes paper, food wastes, cans, bottles, yard waste, glass, wood, and similar items is called

A)industrial solid waste
B)hazardous waste
C)municipal solid waste
D)toxic solid waste
E)ewaste

Question 13

Much of the e-waste in the United States not buried or burned is

A)dismantled and reused
B)recycled
C)stored in warehouses
D)crushed and used as construction material
E)shipped to Asia or Africa

Question 14

One way to deal with the creation of solid wastes begins with the question "how can we avoid producing so much solid waste?" This approach is called

A)waste reduction
B)waste recycling
C)secondary pollution prevention
D)primary pollution prevention
E)integrated waste management

Question 15

Which of the following is something each person can do to save resources?

A)buy things that are reusable, recyclable, or compostable
B)use e-mail or text messaging in place of paper mail
C)buy products in bulk or concentrated form when possible
D)avoid disposable items such as plastic ups, plates, eating utensils
E)all of these are things each person can do

Question 16

What percentage of solid and hazardous waste represent a violation of the chemical cycling sustainability principle?

A)33%
B)50%
C)67%
D)75%
E)90%

Question 17

Hazardous waste includes radioactive wastes which will have to be stored safely for as long as

A)15,000 years
B)50,000 years
C)100,000 years
D)240,000 years
E)1,000,000 years

Question 18

Which of the following industrialized nations has not signed the International Basel Convention to reduce and/or control movement of hazardous e-waste across international boundaries?

A)Canada
B)United States
C)Japan
D)South Korea
E)European Union

Question 19

The recycling and composting rate of U.S.municipal solid waste is about

A)7%
B)14%
C)25%
D)32%
E)54%

Question 20

In an integrated waste management approach to solid waste, which of the following would be given last priority?

A)compost
B)reuse
C)reduce packaging
D)bury
E)recycle

Question 21

Consumers of recycled products are most effective when they maximize the amount of ____ waste in the products they buy.

A)pre-producer
B)post-producer
C)pre-consumer
D)post-consumer
E)producer

Question 22

Hazardous waste can be concentrated by using surface impoundments, lined ponds or lagoons. However, EPA has found that what percentage of these impoundments in the U.S.have no liners?

A)3
B)15
C)25
D)70
E)90

Question 23

How many U.S.states have bottle laws?

A)1
B)6
C)10
D)22
E)50

Question 24

All of the following are means of detoxifying hazardous and toxic wastes, except

A)phytoremediation
B)crushing and grinding
C)bioremediation
D)nanomagnets
E)chemical methods

Question 25

Sanitary landfills typically have problems with

A)rodents and insects
B)odor
C)open, uncovered garbage
D)traffic, noise, and dust
E)spread of disease

Question 26

In order for an incinerator to be a safe alternative for waste disposal all of the following must be done, except

A)Find a use for the heat generated.
B)Control release of CO2.
C)Monitor for toxic metals.
D)Monitor and remove toxic fly ash.
E)Dispose of hazardous materials in an approved landfill.

Question 27

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a plasma torch to detoxify hazardous waste?

A)mobility
B)toxic ash production
C)cost
D)production of SO2 gas
E)low energy use

Question 28

Less than ____ percent of the 100 billion plastic bags used in the United States each year are recycled.

A)30
B)25
C)18
D)5
E)1

Question 29

The second law of thermodynamics makes it important that which of the following rules is followed for landfills?

A)don't bury organic material
B)don't produce dust or noise
C)don't mix different types of waste you may want to separate later
D)don't use available land for landfills
E)don't use filled land for other purposes

Question 30

Which of the following is not an advantage of reusing items over and over?

A)cuts waste
B)creates local jobs
C)cuts greenhouse gases
D)reduces bacterial infections
E)saves money

Question 31

At the checkout counter, an environmentalist is most likely to

A)say "Plastic please."
B)say "Paper please."
C)say "I brought my own bag."
D)walk out of the store.
E)say "Either plastic or paper."

Question 32

Using PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles accomplishes all of the following except

A)saves energy
B)reduces carbon dioxide emissions
C)totally eliminates need for recycling
D)reduces water pollution
E)reduces solid waste

Question 33

Which of the following is the most common method of storage of hazardous wastes used in most countries of the world?

A)burial at sea
B)above ground tanks
C)inside plants and warehouses
D)land burial
E)glassification

Question 34

Which of the following is not a strategy for encouraging reuse and recycling?

A)decrease subsidies and tax breaks for using virgin resources
B)increase the use of fee-per-bag waste collection systems
C)require government purchasing of recycled products
D)pass laws requiring companies take back and recycle packaging
E)encourage the shipping of hazardous waste to poor countries

Question 35

Currently, the United States recycles about ____ of all its wastepaper.

A)15%
B)23%
C)49%
D)56%
E)67%

Question 36

Which of the following methods uses natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from soil and water?

A)phytoremediation
B)physical methods
C)bioremediation
D)nanomagnets
E)chemical methods

Question 37

Municipal composting facilities in the United States recycle approximately ____% percent of the country's yard wastes, which is approximately ____% percent of the total Municipal Solid Waste.

A)10, 2
B)22, 4
C)31, 6
D)37, 8
E)43, 10

Question 38

The most energy-efficient beverage container on the market is

A)refillable glass
B)recyclable aluminum
C)stainless steel
D)recyclable plastic
E)carton

Question 39

Which of the following is true about waste-to-energy incineration?

A)inexpensive to build
B)produces no hazardous waste
C)produces no air pollution
D)concentrates hazardous substances into ash
E)discourages waste production

Question 40

Some scientists suggest biodegradable conventional plastics promotes which of the following problems?

A)carbon dioxide releases
B)methane releases
C)toxic chemicals in the groundwater
D)throwing away rather than recycling
E)large energy expenditures

Question 41

The European Union has an approach to ewaste, known as the cradle-to-grave approach, which requires manufacturers to provide health benefits from cradle-to-grave.

Question 42

Reusing products can be a health hazard for the poor in developing countries who dismantle products with hazardous materials to extract usable parts.

Question 43

Plastics are routinely recycled because they are composed of pure resins that can be extracted and used for other plastic products.

Question 44

The fastest growing solid waste problem in the U.S.and in the world is ewaste.

Question 45

Industrial biomimicry provides all of the following economic benefits for businesses, except

A)reduce the costs of managing solid wastes
B)increases sales of all products regardless of hazardous nature
C)reduces chances of being sued
D)improves health and safety of workers
E)encourages better consumer image of the company

Question 46

A disproportionate share of polluting factories, hazardous waste dumps, incinerators, and landfills in the U.S.are located in communities populated by all of the following, except

A)African Americans
B)Asian Americans
C)Caucasians
D)Latinos
E)working poor

Question 47

What percentage of the hazardous waste produced in the U.S.is regulated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act?

A)5%
B)10%
C)15%
D)20%
E)25%

Question 48

Some scientists and economists doubt that much solid waste could be eliminated by prioritizing strategies in a coordinated effort.

Question 49

Most environmental scientists call for a much greater emphasis on waste reduction than waste disposal.

Question 50

In 1989 an international treaty called the Basel Convention banned developed countries from shipping hazardous waste to developing countries.Which of the following countries has not ratified the treaty?

A)Lithuania
B)Burkina Faso
C)Cuba
D)Democratic Republic of Congo
E)United States

Question 51

In 2008 the largest category of MSW before recycling was plastics.

Question 52

Large companies make more money by producing and shipping throwaway beverage and food containers from centralized facilities.

Question 53

Which of the following is not a disadvantage of deep-well disposal of liquid hazardous wastes?

A)limited number of sites
B)leakage into groundwater
C)encourages waste production
D)emits carbon dioxide and other air pollutants
E)wastes can often be retrieved

Question 54

Which of the following principles does not contribute to a transition to a low-waste society?

A)Economic growth and free markets reduce waste.
B)Everything is connected.
C)There is no "away."
D)Polluters and producers should pay for the wastes they produce
E)We can mimic nature by reusing, recycling, composting

Question 55

Large beverage industries have used their political and financial clout to force most U.S.states to pass bottle bills.

Question 56

About 98.5% of all solid waste in the United States is industrial solid waste.

Question 57

Integrated Waste Management involves using strategies for waste disposal and waste reduction.

Question 58

Newspapers from 50 years ago are still readable may still be readable because trash can resist decomposition for centuries if it is not exposed to air, sunlight, water, and bacteria.

Question 59

Of the following methods of dealing with hazardous wastes, the most desirable is

A)incineration
B)conversion to less hazardous materials
C)perpetual storage
D)deposit in ocean trenches
E)recycling and reusing hazardous wastes

Question 60

Plastic bags can help spread malaria by providing mini-pools of water where mosquitoes can breed.

Question 61

Burial or long-term storage of hazardous waste is the first priority for environmental scientists.

Question 62

The National Priorities List identifies hazardous waste sites, with clean up of these sites based on priority and severity.

Question 63

At sanitary landfills, consideration of leachate is of most importance as far as environmental preservation is concerned.

Question 64

If every U.S.household used just one 500-sheet roll of toilet paper made from 100% recycled paper in place of a roll made from virgin timber, 425,000 trees would be saved each year.

Question 65

Eighty to ninety percent of all hazardous waste is produced by _______________ countries, with the United States as the largest producer.

Question 66

It is likely that every person on earth has detectable levels of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in their body.

Question 67

It is currently impossible to separate plastics from each other by type and grade in a mixed waste stream.

Question 68

The products of composting can be used to slow soil erosion, retain water, and improve crop yields.

Question 69

The incineration of hazardous wastes is quick, conserves space, and reduces waste volume but is not used because of the increased water pollution that results.

Question 70

Recycling and composting of 33% of all the MSW in the U.S.reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equivalent to removing the emissions of 33 million passenger cars.

Question 71

____________________ is the combined solid waste produced by homes and workplaces.

Question 72

Modern waste-to-energy incinerators produce lower emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants than do modern landfills.

Question 73

Materials-recovery facilities (MRF) encourage people to produce more trash.

Question 74

The Waste Management Research Institute estimates that at least 10,000 sites should be on the National Priorities List instead of the current 1,300.

Question 75

The best and cheapest ways to deal with solid and hazardous wastes are waste reduction and pollution prevention.

Question 76

No country has yet to ban persistent organic pollutants.

Question 77

NOPE calls for drastically reducing production of toxic and hazardous wastes by emphasizing pollution prevention and using the precautionary principle.

Question 78

____________________ is the fastest-growing solid waste problem in the United States and in the world.

Question 79

Newspaper and cardboard are difficult to recycle.

Question 80

Bottle laws, where a deposit fee is placed on all beverage containers, leads to a loss of jobs and higher beverage costs.