Name:______Date:______
Waste & Our World
Study Notes
Unit Test
Natural Wastes: (-waste that mother nature makes)
Animal Waste Plant Waste
Faeces Leaves
Dead Animals Flowers/Fruit/Vegetables
Fur/hair Bark / branches
bones Grass Clippings
Etc.
Nature Recycling Process:
1. Natural wastes fall to the ground.
2. Decomposers break down the natural waste into basic chemicals and nutrients.
3. The new nutrients mix with the soil.
4. The healthy soil produces healthy new plants.
5. The plants use the nutrients to grow.
Decomposers:
Animals, fungi and bacteria that reduce ‘waste’ into basic chemicals and nutrients.
Mold:
Mold is also a decomposer that is a member of the fungi family. Tiny threads of mold invade food and eat the nutrients found inside of it.
Household Waste: -categories you can sort it into:
.
Category / Example / What to do with it?Metals / cans, tin foil, pop cans / RECYCLE
Organic Waste / apple cores, banana peels, pea shells, egg shells, bread / COMPOST
Plastic-Recycle / Milk jugs, pop bottles, / RECYCLE
Paper / Junk mail, newspaper, envelopes / RECYCLE
Glass / Broken glasses, chipped vase / RECYCLE
Food Scraps / Fried Food, meat, bones, butter, fat, diary products / Landfill
Cardboard / boxes / RECYCLE
Plastic Non-recycle / Wrappers, zip lock bags / Landfill
Biodegradable:
A waste that can be eaten by a decomposer because it was once living:
For example: apple cores, and banana peels.
*please remember that paper and cardboard are biodegradable because they are made from trees
*just because something is biodegradable does not mean it can be composted
Non-Biodegradable:
A waste that cannot be eaten by a decomposer. These wastes are human made like tin cans, or a plastic bags, or glass bottles
Packaging Materials:
In order to decide which packaging material is the best, you must ask yourself several questions.
1. Is it bio-degradable?
2. Is it recyclable? (*** just because you can recycle something does not mean it is best for the environment, it takes a lot of energy/power to be able to transform old items into new ones)
3. Is it re-usable?
4. Does it protect the contents?
5. Is it light weight?
6. Is it compactable for disposal?-can you squish it to make it smaller?
7. Is it water proof?
8. Is it mostly made from natural resources or recycled material?
Toxic Wastes:
A waste that can be very harmful to humans/animals/plants if disposed of improperly.
Examples of Toxic Wastes: Disposal:
Batteries Eco-Centre
Dry-Cleaning Fluids Eco-Centre
Fabric Softeners Eco-Centre
Hair spray Eco-Centre
Toilet Bowl cleaners Eco-Centre
Antifreeze Eco-Centre
Car oil & gas Eco-Centre
Nail polish remover Eco-Centre
Old prescription drugs Pharmacies
Many communities participate in Toxic Waste Round Up days that do not have their own ECO-Centers.
There are many environmentally friendly products that can be used in the place of toxic wastes.
For example:
You can make homemade window cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, furniture polish, and laundry soap cleaner.
Waste Disposal Methods
Compost:-A mixture of decomposing vegetable matter, table scraps, and grass clippings used to fertilize the soil.
-Composts need to be kept moist at all times.
-Worms can be added to composting units to speed up the natural decomposition process. (worms don’t like light)
Pro: Con:
-produces rich soil for your plants -only useful with certain materials (no oil or meat)
-little work is required -can smell and attract bugs/animals
-saves waste from going to the landfill -can’t use in winter
Recycle:To cut up/melt down an old product and turn it into something new.
Pros Cons:
Might make money -Takes time
-many things can’t be recycled
Saves resources -Need lots of storage room
-Takes a lot of power/energy to melt
Things down and turn them into new items
Reuse:To use a product over and over again.
Pros Cons
-Causes less pollution -Not everything can be re-used
-Saves resources -Need room for storage
-Causes less garbage to go to dump
Incinerator:A large furnace that burns garbage.
Pros: Cons:
-eats garbage -makes air pollution
-use the heat that they make to warm buildings -expensive
or to make electricity -not all garbage can be
can burn medical waste burned
Landfill:A pit is dug, and water proofed with a clay lining. Garbage is then compacted and put into the pit. When it is full, the pit is covered over.
Pro Con
quick pollutes underground water, lakes, wells
-animals attracted to it
easy Catches on fire easily.
fairly inexpensive Takes up a lot of space.
-ruins the scenery
Five Rs
Recycle:
Items that can be recycled are melted down, and turned into something else.
Example: plastic bottles are melted down, and can be turned into fleece.
Reduce:
To make less waste (Instead of buying individually wrapped items, buy large bulk quantities instead so you won’t have to throw as much wrapper away)
Rethink:
To think twice about how we use products and how we dispose of them.
(Buy and use re-usable containers, silverware, dishes instead of disposable ones)
Repair:
Instead of replacing what you have with new stuff, fix what you already have.
(Ex: fix your old bike instead of buying a new one)
Reuse:
To use something over and over again.
For example buy plastic containers so that you can reuse each day in your lunch instead of bringing your lunch in throw away baggies.
Questions to ask yourself:
1. What can you do to decrease the amount of waste you produce?
2. What can we do to ensure that other people and groups are recycling, reusing, composting, and properly disposing of toxic wastes.
3. What sort of plan could our class put into action to help our school and or our town become more environmentally friendly?
How would we get the information to people?
What information would we give them?