Chapter 21 - Solid and Hazardous Wastes Quiz Questions

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

240,000 years

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

Economic growth and free markets reduce waste.

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

False

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.

False

Filtration and distillation are _____ methods for detoxifying hazardous waste.

Physical

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

Redesign landfills

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

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Upcycling is an example of ______.

Reusing

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.

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

True

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

bury

Which material would not be dumped in the compost pile?

chicken bones

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

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

cost

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

crushing and grinding

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

industrial solid waste

One advantage of bioremediation over physical and chemical methods of cleaning up hazardous wastes is that _____.

it is cheaper

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

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

reusing

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

surface impoundments

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

the United States

In the United States, most hazardous waste is produced in which industries?

the military, mining, and the chemical industry