Chapter 19 "Waste" Study Guide

What percentage of the energy needed to make aluminum cans from ore is needed to make recycled aluminum cans from used aluminum?

5%

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, what percentage of the approved or proposed superfund sites have been cleaned up?

75 out of 1200

Creating steel from scrap instead of from ore uses about BLANK less energy.

75 percent

Superfund and RCRA are administered and enforced by the United States BLANK.

EPA

What is the most helpful thing that a consumer can do to make sure that more materials are recycled?

Make an effort to buy products made from recycled materials whenever possible.

Explain two methods of reducing hazardous waste.

burning toxic substances and incinerators, using nontoxic beads instead of solvents to clean metal parts

Materials that are formed naturally are BLANK.

e biodegradable

International trade agreements have allowed some countries to BLANK hazardous waste to other countries for disposal, treatment, or recycling.

export

Give at least 3 examples of biodegradable materials.

food, 100% cotton, fallen leaves from trees

An advantage of BLANK plastic is that its production uses 20 to 50 percent less fossil fuel than does the production of regular plastic.

green

Wastes containing toxic, corrosive, or explosive material are considered BLANK.

hazardous

What determines if a product is biodegradable?

if the product can be broken down by biological processes

An advantage of a solid waste BLANK is that it reduces the amount of trash destined for landfills.

incinerator

How has the percentage of waste recycled changed since 1970?

increased from 6.6% to 28%

What is the main function of the Superfund Act?

it allows the EPA to sue companies that dump hazardous waste illegally

In terms of energy use, what is the benefit of making products from recycled material?

it saves energy and other resources during a process of manufacturing

More than half of the solid waste produced in the United States comes from BLANK.

manufacturing

Which industry produces the most solid waste?

manufacturing

What is a benefit of methane in a landfill?

may be caputured and used to produce energy

Some landfills generate electricity by burning BLANK gas that is produced by decomposing garbage.

methane

List at least 3 requirements for a landfill built today.

must be lined with clay and plastic, must have systems for collecting and treating leachate, bent pipe must be installed for removing methane

Give three examples of hazardous waste.

oil, gas, paint

What is the overall main problem with biodegradable plastic?

only the organic portion actually decomposes

What type of solid waste makes up the largest percentage of waste produced by households and businesses?

paper products

You can use your consumer buying power to reduce solid waste by using BLANK batteries.

rechargeable

The BLANK allows for owners who illegally dump hazardous waste to be sued and forced to pay for cleanup of their sites.

superfund act

Which regulation requires producers of hazardous waste to document how their wastes are handled?

the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

How is hazardous waste disposed of by deep-well injection?

the waste is stored in layers of rock below the water table

Explain 3 facts of how biodegradable plastics reduce solid waste.

they are designed to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight, contain sugar that is broken down by soil bacteria, breaks down into smaller pieces.

What is a common characteristic of all hazardous-waste land -disposal facilities?

they are long term storage sites

What is the major benefit of composting?

to reduce the amount of waste that restaurants, food-processing plants, and animal feedlots send to landfills.

Explain a major source of waste reduction.

using canvas shopping bags.

Explain the two main problems associated with modern landfills.

chemicals leaking out of stored waste that could pollute groundwater and buildup of methane that could get in basements of surrounding homes.

Decomposing yard waste and fruit and vegetable trimmings can be broken down by bacteria to form BLANK, which reduces the need for fertilizers.

compost

Biodegradable plastics never completely BLANK.

decompose

Disposing of hazardous wastes by pumping them into the ground below groundwater level is called BLANK.

deepwell injection.

Manufacturers could reduce waste and conserve resources by making products that are more BLANK.

durable