EnviroScience: Chapter 19.1: Solid Waste (Part 2)

We are currently running out of space that we are willing to develop for new landfills.

!

By 2005, the total number of active landfills decreased to ___________ because many of the landfills had been filled to capacity.

1,700

In 2006, the U.S. had ________ operational incinerators that were capable of burning up to _____________ metric tons of municipal solid waste per day.

103, 94,000

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act was passed in ____________ and updated in ____________

1976, 1984

By _________, the total number of active landfills decreased to 1,700 because many of the landfills had been filled to capacity.

2005

In __________, the U.S. had 103 operational incinerators that were capable of burning up to 94,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste per day.

2006

More than _____% of the municipal and manufacturing solid waste in the United States ends up in landfills.

55

The total number of active landfills in the United States in 1988 was ___________

8,000.

__________________ are one option for reducing the amount of solid waste in landfills.

Incinerators

forms as organic wastes decompose deep in the landfill where there is no oxygen.

Methane

___________________ include rock and minerals that are left exposed in large heaps, dumped in oceans and rivers, or disposed by refilling and landscaping abandoned mines.

Mining wastes

requires that new landfills be built with safeguards to reduce pollution problems.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Special ________________________________ help control the amount of toxins released into the air.

air pollution control devices

Most agricultural wastes are _________________

biodegradable

New landfills must be lined with __________ and a ___________ liner and must have systems for collecting and treating leachate, as well as ________ to carry methane out of the landfill.

clay, plastic, vents

Adding safeguards to landfills, however, increases the _________ of building them.

cost

The materials we bury in landfills are not ____________ as fast as we can fill landfills.

decomposing

Methane gas can be pumped out of landfills and burned to generate _____________.

electricity

Landfills must contain the waste that is buried inside and keep it from causing problems with the _______________

environment.

If methane gas production is not monitored safely, it may seep through the ground and into basements of nearby homes and cause _____________.

explosions

However, the increasing use of _____________ and ____________ may cause agricultural waste to become more difficult to dispose of because the waste may be harmful if returned to the soil.

fertilizers and pesticides

an area of land or an excavation where wastes are placed for permanent disposal

landfill

Also, finding acceptable places to build ___________ is difficult.

landfills

More than 55% of the municipal and manufacturing solid waste in the United States ends up in ______________

landfills.

If landfills are not monitored properly, __________ can flow into groundwater supplies and make nearby wells unsafe to drink.

leachate

a liquid that has passed through solid waste and has extracted dissolved or suspended materials from waste, such as pesticides in the soil.

leachate

Consumers indirectly create _________________ by purchasing products that have been manufactured.

manufacturing waste

Solid waste from _____________, _____________, and ______________ makes up most of the total solid waste produced in the U.S.

manufacturing, mining, and agriculture

a highly flammable gas

methane

presents another problem for landfills

methane

More than 55% of the ___________ and ____________ solid waste in the United States ends up in landfills.

municipal and manufacturing

Methane forms as organic wastes decompose deep in the landfill where there is no ____________.

oxygen

Leachate is a problem for landfills because it may contain chemicals from ___________, ____________, ________, ___________, ____________, and _____________

paints, pesticides, cleansers, cans, batteries, and appliances.

However, even incinerators with these special air pollution control devices release small amounts of _____________ and particles of __________________ into the air.

poisonous gases, toxic heavy metals

Incinerated materials do not disappear, but the weight of solid waste is _____________

reduced.

Waste inside a landfill must not come into contact with the ____________ and ____________ surrounding the landfill.

soil and groundwater

Landfills are maintained by covering wastes each day with a layer of ________, __________, or ____________

soil, plastic, or both.

Incinerated materials can be more ___________ than before it was incinerated.

toxic

If landfills are not monitored properly, leachate can flow into groundwater supplies and make nearby wells...

unsafe to drink.

Even biodegradable materials, like newspapers, take several __________ to decompose.

years