Chapter 19 Waste
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 1,200
Creating steel from scrap instead of from ore uses about _____ less energy.
75%
What is a benefit of methane in a landfill?
Captured to produce energy.
Explain the two main problems associated with modern landfills.
Chemicals leaking out of storage waste could pollute water, and buildup of methane that could get in basements of surrounding homes.
Superfund and RCRA are administered and enforced by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency of EPA.
Give at least 3 examples of biodegradable materials.
Food waste like vegetable and fruit peels, dead plants and animals, and egg shells.
What determines if a product is biodegradable?
Given the right conditions and presence of microorganisms, fungi, or bacteria, it will eventually break down to its basic components and blend back in with the earth.
How has the percentage of waste recycled changed since 1970?
Increased from 6.6% to 30%.
What is the main function of the Superfund Act?
It gives the EPA the right to sue the owners of hazardous waste sites who had illegally dumped waste.
In terms of energy use, what is the benefit of making products from recycled material?
It saves energy and other resources.
According to the powerpoint, 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 d from recycled materials
Which industry produces the most solid waste?
Manufacturing
List at least 3 requirements for a landfill built today.
Must be lined with clack and plastic, must have systems for collecting and treating lech,and vent pipes must be installed for removing methane
Give three examples of hazardous waste.
Oil, gas, paint and fertilizer
What is the overall main problem with biodegradable plastic?
Only the organic portion actually decomposes.
Which regulation requires producers of hazardous waste to document how their wastes are handled?
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Explain a major source of waste reduction.
The major source is it involves the design, manufacture, purchase or use of materials and products to reduce the amount or toxicity of what is thrown away.
Explain 3 facts of how biodegradable plastics reduces solid waste.
They are designed to deteriorate when exposed to sunlight. They can contain sugar that can be broken down by soil bacteria. They usually break 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, processing plants and animals feedlots send to landfills.
Explain two methods of reducing hazardous waste.
When they burn it in special incinerators, and to use non toxic beads instead of solvents to clean metals.
How is hazardous waste disposed of by deep-well injection?
You store wastes in layers of dry rock below the water table.
Materials that are formed naturally are
biodegradable.
International trade agreements have allowed some countries to __________ hazardous waste to other countries for disposal, treatment, or recycling.
export
An advantage of _______________ 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
hazardous.
An advantage of a solid waste_____________ is that it reduces the amount of trash destined for landfills.
incinerator
More than half of the solid waste produced in the United States comes from
manufacturing.
Some landfills generate electricity by burning ______________ that is produced by decomposing garbage.
methane gas
What type of solid waste makes up the largest percentage of waste produced by households and businesses?
paper
You can use your consumer buying power to reduce solid waste by using _____________ batteries.
rechargeable
The ____________ allows for owners who illegally dump hazardous waste to be sued and forced to pay for cleanup of their sites.
superfund act
Decomposing yard waste and fruit and vegetable trimmings can be broken down by bacteria to form ___________ which reduces the need for fertilizers.
compost
Biodegradable plastics never completely
decompose
Disposing of hazardous wastes by pumping them into the ground below groundwater level is called
deep well injection.
Manufacturers could reduce waste and conserve resources by making products that are more
durable