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