Trashed video questions APES Mr. BODAS

  1. What do you think the trash a typical American produces says about our philosophy and values as a nation regarding solid waste management?
  2. Why do you think using landfills to dispose of trash and solid waste as opposed to some other types of waste management have been the standard in the U.S.?
  3. How has sanitation and the public health contributed to the concept of “away”?
  4. Do you think that Americans on average really understand or grasp the significance of the trash each person generates on a daily basis? Why or why not?
  5. Do you support interstate transfer of trash? Why or why not?
  6. What is leachate? What effect might leachate from a landfill have on drinking water or water quality in general?
  7. Describe some of the problems the State of Michigan has encountered in terms of landfills being developed within the state.
  8. Lee Adleman is the V.P. of business development for Waste Management (a company that may take your trash to the landfill). What is his view on the sustainability of land -filling?
  9. How has the development of the markets for recyclable materials influenced curbside recycling programs?
  10. Dan Knapp, of the company UrbanOre, utilizes reuse as the cornerstone of his business. Describe his business. What’s Knapp’s perspective on the best way to motivate people to focus more on reuse?
  11. What are some of the environmental hazards of e-waste?
  12. How much of the solid waste generation problem do you think is attributable to the producers of goods? How much of the problem regarding waste and garbage generation is the consumer’s responsibility?
  13. Describe the transition Interface Inc. (carpet manufacturer) made going from a company that went from a traditional waste generating company, to a company that is sustainable, to a company that is “restorative”.
  14. What is your impression or understanding of the phrase “converting from a liner manufacturing process” to “converting to a more cyclical process thinking like nature” in relation to Interface Inc.’s or any businesses waste generation?
  15. How many landfills in the U.S. are actively capturing methane for energy generation?
  16. What’s your opinion of “freegans”? What do you think the average person from Del Mar would think of a “freegan”? What about a person from the slums of India or Mexico City?
  17. List some of the benefits of composting of organic materials vs. allowing those organic materials from entering the landfill.
  18. Compare war-time efforts of recycling and resource conservation vs. the modern approach to resource use based on convenience and “throw away able”.
  19. Describe the problem of the North Pacific gyre.
  20. What was the ironic link between Inuit populations and suburban and urban generated pollutants?