Environmental Science Ch. 19: Waste

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), what percentage of the approved or proposed Superfund sites have been cleaned up?

341 out of 1,620.

What percentage of the energy needed to make aluminum cans from ore is needed to make recycled aluminum cans from used aluminum cans?

5 percent.

An example of something that is biodegradable is:

A leaf in a compost pile.

Which of the following is a true statement about recycling?

After they are collected, recyclable materials are cleaned and processed.

Which of the following correctly describes biodegradable plastics?

All of the above.

Which of the following is not a method of reducing hazardous waste?

Allowing fungi to break down petroleum sludge.

Which of the following correctly describes the disposal of waste by composting?

Composting could reduce the amount of waste that restaurants, food-processing plants, and animal feedlots send to landfills.

The process of composting:

Could effectively handle a variety of wastes.

From 1970 to the present, the percentage of waste that is recycled has:

Increased from 6.6 percent to 30 percent.

Which of the following is not a requirement for a landfill built today?

It must be a specified distance from a city or other populated area.

Which of the following are problems associated with landfills?

Leachate and methane production.

According to the text, 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 from recycled materials whenever possible.

Which of the following statements does not describe a problem associated with modern landfills?

Materials buried in landfills decompose in three years.

The methane found in landfills is a gas that:

May be captured and used to produce energy.

The main problem with so-called biodegradable plastic is that:

Only its organic portion actually decomposes.

Which items make up the largest percentage of waste produced by households and businesses?

Paper products.

Which of the following is not considered hazardous waste?

Rotting meat and other food waste.

Under the Superfund Act,

The EPA may sue companies that dump hazardous waste illegally.

Which regulation requires producers of hazardous wastes to document how their wastes are handled?

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

An example of source reduction is:

Using canvas shopping bags.