Chapter 22 Waste Management Study Guide

Terms

  • composting
  • deep-well injection
  • hazardous waste
  • incineration
  • industrial ecology
  • industrial solid waste
  • leachate
  • life-cycle analysis
  • municipal solid waste
  • recycling
  • sanitary landfills
  • source reduction
  • Superfund (CERLA)
  • surface impoundments
  • waste
  • waste management
  • waste stream
  • waste-to-energy (WTE)
  • Times Beach
  • Love Canal
  • Bhopal India
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
  • materials recovery facilities (MRFs)

  1. What are the three categories of waste?
  2. What are the three main goals of waste management?
  3. What is a “waste stream” and why would someone want to study it?
  4. What makes up most of municipal wastes?’
  5. What does “per capita” mean?
  6. What is the per capita daily waste of the average US resident?
  7. What is the annual per capita waste in the U.S.?
  8. What makes up the greatest percent of US waste?
  9. According to the graph in figure 22.2 how much of the waste stream could be reduced if all compostable materials were composted instead of put in a landfill?
  10. What is the second-largest component of municipal solid wastes?
  11. How do most undeveloped countries process their wastes?
  12. How much has waste generation changed since the 1960s?
  13. Describe 3 reasons per capita waste has been increasing in the world?
  14. Describe the change in the per capita waste production in the United States since the 1990’s?
  15. Explain a possible reason for the change you identified in the previous question.
  16. Which two European countries are the most efficient and have the lowest per capita waste production?
  17. Where did New York dump its wastes until the 1850’s
  18. What is the difference between a “sanitary landfill” and a “dump”?
  19. How do landfills keep from polluting ground water with leachate?
  20. What is the fate of the Fresh Kills Landfill in New York?
  21. How does incineration it help the environment? How does it hurt the environment?
  22. What is”fly ash”?
  23. What is WTE? Give two examples.
  24. Why is social justice a major concern in waste management?
  25. What is the best solution to waste management problems?
  26. Give an example of “Source Reduction”.
  27. Give 2 SPECIFIC examples of how YOU can apply reuse strategies to reduce your waste stream.
  28. What percent of US waste is reusable?
  29. What are some of the organisms that compost waste?
  30. What kind of waste is least compostable?
  31. What category of materials is the least recycled?
  32. What is a MRF?
  33. Why is recycling not the best solution for reducing the waste stream?
  34. What is the most difficult part of the recycling loop? Why is it important to “Close the Loop” ?
  35. What percent of US residents participate in curbside recycling?
  36. How much energy is saved by recycling aluminum that by producing it using bauxite?
  37. What is a “Bottle Bill” and what was the initial reason for them?
  38. What is recycled glass used for in Canada?
  39. What is the difference between recycling, upcycling and downcycling (

Industrial Wastes

  1. Most US industrial waste is in what form?
  2. Why is industrial waste related to efficiency?
  3. What is the role of an Industrial Ecologist?
  4. Why would a company want to do a “life cycle analysis”?

Hazardous Wastes

  1. What are the 4 characteristics of hazardous wastes?
  2. What produces the largest amount of UNREGULATED hazardous waste?
  3. List 3 synthetic organic compounds.
  4. List 3 heavy metals.
  5. Why are heavy metals and organic compounds hazardous in low concentrations?
  6. What is quickly becoming a major source of hazardous heavy metals?
  7. What is E-Waste?
  8. Why is RCRA also called the “cradle to grave” act. How does RCRA affect landfill?
  9. What is phytoremediation?
  10. What is deep well injection used for?
  11. Where is low level radioactive waste sent in the United States?
  12. What is CERCLA? How is it related to Love Canal?
  13. What percent of Superfund sites have been cleaned?

Research on the Internet

  1. Which Superfund site is located closest to South Pasadena?
  2. How are Municipal Solid Wastes from South Pasadena managed?
  3. What is the Pacific Gyre and how is it related to waste management?