Chapter 21 Quiz

Which material takes the longest to break down?

plastic bottles

What is an advantage of deep-well disposal of liquid hazardous wastes?

wastes can often be retrieved

For recycling to be successful, three steps must be applied consistently. The three steps, in order of application, are ____.

collecting recyclables, converting recyclables, and buying/selling recyclables

One advantage on materials recovery facilities (MRFs) is that ____.

combustible wastes can be burned to generate electricity

Which is least characteristic of hazardous waste?

conductivity

Which method is not used to detoxify hazardous and toxic wastes?

crushing and grinding

Outputs of hazardous waste can be reduced by relying less on ____ and more on ____.

fossil fuels; renewable energy

Dry cell batteries and household pesticides are classified as ____.

hazardous waste

E-waste can be recycled to extract ____.

high quality plastics

A more sustainable approach to hazardous waste management is least likely to involve ____.

implementing a cap and trade system

Wastes produced by mines, farms, and industry is called ____.

industrial solid waste

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

municipal solid waste

What is an example of an organic contaminant?

oil

Which type of method uses natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminants from soil and water?

phytoremediation

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

post-consumer

Materials that are recycled into products of the same type are undergoing ____.

primary recycling

Which activity is the least desirable from an environmental standpoint?

recycling

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

recycling and reusing hazardous wastes

Which strategy would be least effective for industry and communities in their efforts to reduce resource use, waste, and pollution?

redesign landfills

Reusing items over and over provides several advantages. What is not one of these?

reducing bacterial infections

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

reusing

Upcycling is an example of ____.

reusing

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

shipped to Asia or Africa

The world's largest producer of municipal solid waste (MSW) is ____.

the United States

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 ____.

waste reduction

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

32%

Hazardous waste includes radioactive wastes, which need to be stored safely for as long as ____.

240,000 years

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

80

Polluting factories, hazardous waste dumps, incinerators, and landfills in the U.S. are located least in communities populated by ____.

Caucasians

Which principle about the transition to a low-waste society is false?

Economic growth and free markets reduce waste.

At the checkout counter, an environmentalist is most likely to say, "____."

I brought my own bag

Plastic is made from

Organic molecules derived from oil and natural gas

The ____ is used in the U.S. to regulate hazardous waste.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

____ are lined ponds, pits, or lagoons where liquid hazardous wastes are stored.

Surface impoundments

Which statement about "bottle bills" is true?

They require a deposit for every bottle purchased, and refund the deposit when the bottle is returned.

Garbologists have discovered that trash in landfills is slow to decompose. Why is this?

Trash is compacted so tightly that sunlight, water, and air are unable to reach it.

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

bury

Which material would not be dumped in the compost pile?

chicken bones

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

cost