CH13 SUSTAINBILITY

Solid waste is best defined as any unwanted or discarded material that a. is partially reusable because of its nutrients b. threatens human health or the environment because of its toxicity c. is not liquid or gas d. is not biodegradable e. cannot be converted to a liquid

c. is not liquid or gas

What would be the top priority in a pollution prevention approach to solid waste? a. recycling b. reusing c. reducing d. burning e. burying

c. reducing

Some European countries have established cradle-to-grave responsibility laws that require companies to a. keep track on all of its hazardous waste .b. bury their waste in hazardous waste landfills. c. take back the consumer products they sell. d. use only new materials in manufacturing. e. exchange their wastes with other companies.

c. take back the consumer products they sell.

Which of the following statements about landfill processes is false? a. Open landfills are common near major cities in many developing countries. b. Contaminated leachate can seep from the bottom of landfills .c. Contaminated groundwater is a problem at some landfills. d. Fly ash created in landfills is a useful by-product. e. Older, unlined landfills may have particularly bad water pollution problems.

d. Fly ash created in landfills is a useful by-product.

____ waste makes up more than 75% of the total waste that scientists have distinguished as recyclable. a. Household b. Postconsumer c. Primary or closed-loop d. Preconsumer e. Secondary

d. Preconsumer

____ regulates about 5% of all hazardous waste produced in the United States. a. Surface impoundments b. CERCLA c. Environmental justice d. RCRA e. Superfund

d. RCRA

In 2000, the parliament of which country enacted a law that by 2020 will ban all chemicals that are persistent and can bioaccumulate in living tissue? a. England b. France c. Switzerland d. Sweden e. Denmark

d. Sweden

Brownfields are a. deep-well injection sites .b. state-of-the-art landfills .c. surface impoundments. d. abandoned industrial and commercial sites. e. above-ground waste storage sites.

d. abandoned industrial and commercial sites.

Bioremediation of hazardous waste uses ____ to detoxify hazardous waste. a. charcoal filters b. cement kilns c. plants d. bacteria and enzymes e. combustion

d. bacteria and enzymes

What is one disadvantage of urbanization? a. lack of transportation options b. higher infant mortality rates c. less access to medical care and social services d. fragmentation of wildlife habitats e. less recycling alternatives

d. fragmentation of wildlife habitats

What is one advantage of liquid hazardous waste disposal by deep-well injection? a. little chance of leakage b. no emission of air pollutants c. discouragement of waste production d. low cost e. ease of incineration

d. low cost

Enforcement of Superfund and cleanup of polluted sites has slowed because a. responsible parties have been quick in cleaning up pollution. b. pollution is no longer a major concern for waste producing industries. c. local governments and small businesses willingly take on the responsibility for cleanup. d. the U.S. Congress refused to renew the tax on oil and chemical companies that funded the program. e. most of the waste sites in the U.S. have already been cleaned up.

d. the U.S. Congress refused to renew the tax on oil and chemical companies that funded the program.

Sanitary landfills typically have problems with a. rodents and insects .b. spreading odors .c. open, uncovered garbage. d. traffic, noise, and dust. e. spread of disease.

d. traffic, noise, and dust.

Which of the following statements is false? a.It is more economical to have consumers separate trash before pickup than to use materials recovery facilities. b.Glass, iron, and aluminum can be recovered from solid wastes. c.The source-separation approach usually involves consumers separating trash into four collections: glass, paper, plastic, and metal. d.Materials-recovery facilities provide many more jobs than low-technology recycling. e.Materials-recovery facilities need a large input of garbage to be financially successful.

d.Materials-recovery facilities provide many more jobs than low-technology recycling.

Currently, about ____ by weight of the municipal solid waste produced in the United States is buried in sanitary landfills. a. 29% b. 39% c. 49% d. 59% e. 69%

e. 69%

Which country burns about 54% of its municipal solid waste in incinerators? a. United States b. Japan c. Switzerland d. Great Britain e. Denmark

e. Denmark

Which of the following strategies for dealing with e-wastes fits best with at least one of the three principles of sustainability? a. Help children learn to earn money by scavenging for scrap metal. b. Ship e-wastes to developing countries. c. Burn e-wastes periodically. d. Dispose of e-wastes in landfills. e. Give used electronics back to manufacturer for remanufacturing, repair, or recycling.

e. Give used electronics back to manufacturer for remanufacturing, repair, or recycling.

Recycling rates for some MSW categories have increased in the U.S. partly because of a. inclusion of environmental costs in market prices. b. the prevalence of MRFs .c. tax breaks for mining virgin materials. d. fluctuations in the price of recycled materials. e. a rise in the number of curbside recycling programs

e. a rise in the number of curbside recycling programs

The term POPs refers to a. persistent producers of waste. b. persistent disposers of waste. c. persistent recyclers of waste. d. persistent transporters of waste. e. persistent organic pollutants.

e. persistent organic pollutants.

An advantage of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) is that they a. encourage a low throughput of garbage .b. have low operation and maintenance costs. c. eliminate the production of toxic ash d. do not emit carbon dioxide and methane. e. recover valuable materials for resale.

e. recover valuable materials for resale.

Incineration of hazardous wastes a. is widely accepted as the best way to dispose of all hazardous wastes. b. results in the production of high-level hazardous wastes. c. may be performed at considerably less expense than landfills .d. increases the total volume of trash .e. is not yet technologically feasible.

.d. increases the total volume of trash

The U.S contains ____ of the world's population but consumes ____ of the world's gasoline. a. 4.4%; 43% b. 4.4%; 25% c. 25%; 10% d. 43%; 5% e. 85%; 2%

a. 4.4%; 43%

Today, ____ of the world's population and ____ of the U.S. population live in urban and suburban areas. a. 52%; 82% b. 20%; 75% c. 82%; 52% d. 90%; 87% e. 100%; 100%

a. 52%; 82%

____ represents the largest proportion of solid waste produced in the United States. a. Industrial solid waste b. Municipal solid waste c. Electronic waste d. Toxic waste e. Integrated waste

a. Industrial solid waste

Instead of being sent to landfills, containers made from bioplastic could be composted to produce a soil conditioner a. True b. False

a. True

Most of the world's cities are not self-sustaining systems. a. True b. False

a. True

People in urban areas tend to have better access to medical services, family planning and recycling facilities than people in rural areas. a. True b. False

a. True

Resource exchange webs function by using the waste of one process as the raw materials for another. a. True b. False

a. True

Resource exchange webs use resources similarly to natural food webs. a. True b. False

a. True

The energy from the combustion of municipal solid waste in an incinerator can be used to boil water to make steam for heating water or space, or for producing electricity. a. True b. False

a. True

Urbanization affects local climates and causes light pollution. a. True b. False

a. True

What is one advantage of urbanization? a. easier access to medical care and social services b. increased attention to wildlife habitats c. stricter regulation of pollution d. better water quality e. more stable climate control

a. easier access to medical care and social services

Physical methods for detoxifying hazardous wastes include a. filtering with charcoal or resins to remove harmful solids. b. isolating the materials and placing them in safe storage. c. destroying toxic substances with bacteria and enzymes .d. activating chemical reactions to convert hazardous chemicals into harmless ones. e. using deep-well disposal.

a. filtering with charcoal or resins to remove harmful solids.

Phytoremediation a. involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb pollutants from soil and water. b. results in the production of high-level hazardous wastes .c. involves a faster and more efficient approach to waste management d. is accepted as the best method of dealing with hazardous wastes. e. is currently in widespread use in large urban areas.

a. involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb pollutants from soil and water.

What are the top four components of municipal solid waste that are buried in U.S. landfills, listed from highest to lowest? a. paper, food waste, yard waste, and plastics b. plastics, paper, yard waste, and food waste c. paper, yard waste, food waste, and plastics d. yard waste, paper, food waste, and plastics e. plastics, food waste, yard waste, and paper

a. paper, food waste, yard waste, and plastics

Primary, or closed-loop recycling a. recycles used materials into new products of the same type b. recycles used materials into new product of a different type. c. recycles materials for use in secondary recycling. d. requires a fee-per-bag collection system. e. involves postconsumer waste.

a. recycles used materials into new products of the same type

The concept of an ecocity revolves around a. sustainability and livability .b. rapid urban development. c. government subsidies and grants. d. mass transportation services. e. upper to middle class populations.

a. sustainability and livability

Smart growth is a form of urban planning that a. uses laws and other tools to channel urban growth into less harmful areas b. relies on current statistics rather than on future population growth trends c. encourages resource consumption d. facilitates urban sprawl on a rapid scale e. focuses on the social consequences of urban land use planning

a. uses laws and other tools to channel urban growth into less harmful areas

With about 4.6% of the world's population, the United States produces ____ of the world's solid waste. a. 15% b. 25% c. 35% d. 45% e. 55%

b. 25%

How much of the hazardous and toxic waste produced in the United States is unregulated? a. 100% b. 95% c. 50% d. 5% e. 1%

b. 95%

Charging a fee or tax on gasoline is an ineffective way to phase in full-cost pricing to offset the environmental and health costs caused by automobile use. a. True b. False

b. False

Ecocities do not yet exist; they are futuristic plans for sustainable urban growth. a. True b. False

b. False

In Europe, car-sharing networks have increased the average drover's carbon dioxide emissions a. True b. False

b. False

Incineration(BURNING) is a sustainable way to manage hazardous wastes. a. True b. False

b. False

Materials-recovery facilities discourage consumers from producing trash. a. True b. False

b. False

The United States legally exports its e-waste under the Basel Convention. a. True b. False

b. False

The principles of new urbanization try to discourage mixed-use city neighborhoods in an effort to maximize economic sustainability. a. True b. False

b. False

The use of DDT is banned worldwide. a. True b. False

b. False

____ represents the second largest proportion of solid waste produced in the United States. a. Industrial solid waste b. Municipal solid waste c. Electronic waste d. Toxic waste e. Integrated waste

b. Municipal solid waste

Urbanization is best defined as the a. decline of suburban populations. b. creation and growth of urban and suburban areas. c. homogenization of ecocities .d. replacement of hypercities with megacities .e. migration of the U.S. population to less populated states.

b. creation and growth of urban and suburban areas.

Hazardous waste is best defined as waste that threatens human health or the environment because it a. is devoid of any nutrients b. is poisonous, dangerously chemically reactive, corrosive, or flammable c. an unwanted or discarded material that is not liquid or gas. d. is in violation of anti-pollution laws e. has been disposed of improperly

b. is poisonous, dangerously chemically reactive, corrosive, or flammable

What is an advantage of sanitary landfills for the disposal of solid waste? a. discouragement of waste production b. low operating cost c. containment of greenhouse gases d. less contamination of groundwater e. better traffic ad air pollution controls

b. low operating cost

Sanitary landfills are most likely to result in a. open dumps. b. the release of methane. c. better ecocities. d. reintroduction of wildlife habitats. e. less urban sprawl.

b. the release of methane.

Some governments legally recognize slum areas of the urban poor in developing countries. On reason for this is that people living in slums tend to a. utilize discarded building materials supplied by the government. b. work to improve their living conditions if they know they can stay in an area. c. rely on government subsidies for access to clean water, sewers, electricity and roads. d. picket for basic services on government property, thereby creating a distraction. e. occupy other legal properties nearby when their properties are illegal

b. work to improve their living conditions if they know they can stay in an area.

The fly ash waste produced by the electric power plant in the industrial ecosystem in Kalundborg, Denmark is used by a. greenhouses. b. pharmaceutical plants. c. cement manufacturers. d. fish farms .e. area homes.

c. cement manufacturers.